#atsundance

I found it a little hard to believe that the script for this film was actually just a 12 page outline, but after hearing Director Joe Swanberg talk about the set etiquette, it totally explains how he was able to convey such real and complex characters. It was incredibly refreshing to see such complex female characters onscreen, which clearly stemmed from the fact that they were able to improve a serious majority of their lines. Joe outlined all of the plot points in which Anna Kendrick, your average 20-something woman, has to move in with her brother and his wife who have a two year old son. Explaining any more than that would be doing the film an injustice, because the thing that made this film so great to watch was just how genuine every character was, everyone had their own strengths, their motivation, their shortcomings, and everything else that real human beings have and they get to such an incredible level of emotion with each other that you relate to every facet of each of them. The cinematography is almost entirely handheld and the editing is borderline seamless, which are just more aspects of the filmmaking process that make it feel like you are a part of these people's lives. I really enjoyed it my first time through, but am convinced and concerned that a second watch will only either bore me to death or make me feel as though I'm recounting a fond memory of old friends, and nowhere in between. Hard to say until I experience it when this film hopefully gets picked up by a distributor so that more people can get to know these people like I did.

3.5/4

It feels weird to review a movie about a movie critic. Especially since I'm so close to the film and so much less experienced. I will try to do my best to stay objective and will probably keep it short to do him justice. Director Steve James was made famous for his ability to really "capture life itself", said by Ebert himself. James clearly did his best to do so, encouraged by Ebert, to really show all of the great times, all of the bad times, all of the terrible times, and make a film about a man rather than a film icon. It followed every moment from his birth in Urbana-Champaign to his passing in Chicago, with some exclusive footage of him in the hospital, Ebert was very cooperative in making sure the film did not hide anything. Although the film was a little long, no one with a connection to Ebert will feel that way. The style was as close as you can get to intrusive without feeling unwelcome. Roger claimed that film was a labor of love, and this film absolutely was.

3.5/4

Young Ones was an extremely experimental film from a directorial standpoint. The storytelling style was very unique, combining great techniques from both new films and classics. This contributed to a really cool sense that it wasn't only hard to tell what year the film took place in, but also what year it was made. The film was a dystopian western Bildungsroman starring Michael Shannon and directed by John Paltrow. Within the first ten minutes, it established that this was not going to be one of your average movie experiences. Displaying the hardships of a world where it hasn't rained in decades and the water is all but gone, Ernest Holm does what he can to provide for his two kids by trading supplies. He does his best to help the people of the town, too, and spends a lot of time trying to raise his boy to be a good man. His daughter is madly in love with the rebellious leather jacket wearing, motorcycle riding, son of the town's biggest businessman. He and his son do their best throughout the film to get the men with the only working water well to run a pipeline to their farm, that they believe still has fertile soil. It was such an incredibly imaginative and yet tame universe, a little reminiscent of the one in Looper, that does not require calling any attention to itself. The cinematography and editing were masterful, keeping a fluid, enthralling pace throughout. All of the performances made you believe that these actors were born to play these characters and even in a world so wildly different from our own, you empathized to the problems and downfalls of every one of them.

4/4