JDIFF 2014

Noise Annoys

adrian522 wrote: »

No it was just announced before the movie started unless I misheard which is certainly possible.

It was actually the producer and the main lead, Jean-Marc Barr. Michael Polish wasn't there.

I didn't like the film. For me, it never gave a convincing portrayal of Kerouac and the supporting cast looked like they had just dressed up to play beatniks for the weekend. I read the book a long time back, and while some of the cinematography was impressive, overall I think the adaptation failed.

I went to see Wrecking Crew on Saturday afternoon which was enjoyable. It was shown in 4:3, because it was filmed in the mid-90s but it took around 10 years to pay for all the music clearance rights!

Squelchy

Memo from Turner wrote: »

Lunchbox was excellent. It's a romance with quiet comedy overtones, believable characters and a great set-up. It takes place in Mumbai, where millions of office workers have their lunch delivered from home. The plot kicks in when one of the lunch boxes goes to the wrong person, and the sender and recipient begin to correspond.

It sounds like either a typical rom-com or a typical arthouse food film, but it's more original than either. Charming and funny.

I really enjoyed The Lunchbox as well. I was frickin' starving watching him smell the contents of that thing! :pac:

Memo from Turner

Squelchy wrote: »

I really enjoyed The Lunchbox as well. I was frickin' starving watching him smell the contents of that thing! :pac:

I'd say the Indian takeaways of Dublin didn't know what hit them.

JP Liz V1

I have been hearing good things about Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, will it get a nationwide release here?

Sad Professor

Hopefully, it's brilliant. My favourite film of the festival so far.

Squelchy

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

I have been hearing good things about Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, will it get a nationwide release here?

It's released this week (21st) according to Cineworld's website.

Squelchy

Noise Annoys wrote: »

I didn't like the film. For me, it never gave a convincing portrayal of Kerouac and the supporting cast looked like they had just dressed up to play beatniks for the weekend. I read the book a long time back, and while some of the cinematography was impressive, overall I think the adaptation failed.

As much as I love the Polish Brothers I have no interest in this movie. Might see it eventually but was never convinced this would be worthwhile.
Read the book about 15 years ago and wasn't a huge fan of it either, liked it fine, but didn't love it.

johnny_ultimate

Circles - plodding, self-serious drama that goes nowhere interesting slowly. Following three interconnected stories a decade after a violent incident in Bosnia, there's some interest in figuring out how the characters and puzzle pieces fit together, but the delivery is uninspired and the pacing leaden. Well acted, though, and with solid production values.

Wakolda (The German Doctor) - an odd one this, but I quite enjoyed it as an offbeat, creepy semi-historical (maybe pseudo-historical, even) thriller. A young girl and her family in 1960 Argentina move to a hotel to start a new life, and their first resident is not quite what he seems (

he's Josef Mengele

). A curious mystery, full of secret war criminals and genetic experimentation, it's fairly straightforward stuff but with an eccentric edge and an engagingly odd story. A little amateurish looks wise, but a diverting way to spend an hour and a half.

The Past - another expertly crafted domestic melodrama from the great Asghar Farhadi. This director is working on a completely different level to pretty much every other filmmaker these days - there's something so beautifully naturalistic, compassionate and unpretentious about his storytelling. The revelations and personal conflicts come thick and fast here, and most of them pack a devastating punch. I can see some viewers suggesting its too long and offers a pretty grueling number of revelations within revelations, but to me it was all absolutely necessary for Farhadi to build his characters and themes and take them where they need to go. The title couldn't be more appropriate - it's a film about regrets, secrets, misunderstandings, mistakes and commitments, and getting consumed by what might or might not have happened once upon a time. It's intense and captivating viewing seeing these characters address their demons and release their pent up emotions, and it's flawlessly acted. Farhadi's films are, above all, deeply and immensely human, and this is a further example of his beautiful, peerless craftsmanship and empathetic storytelling.

johnny_ultimate

So anyone going to the Surprise Film will have received a very odd email this morning. In short: the film is embargoed, which means no-one is able to review or react to it. Everyone has to return an embargo form if they intend on saying anything about it at all.

Slightly baffling turn of events. The logistics of it are mind boggling: what the hell are the distributors going to do if someone posts a comment about it on Twitter? Seems like a pretty unreasonable expectation.

I guess there's two possibilities here. One is they've actually managed to secure a big, worthwhile exclusive somehow, or something that is easily spoileable. Second is they've got a piece of crap and are already in damage control mode (why stop people giving you free publicity?). Why am I thinking the latter is much more likely (Welcome to the Punch, maybe)? Although also perhaps indicates that films like Frank and The Raid 2, which have already been enthusiastically reviewed elsewhere, are off the table, because it seems very strange indeed to stop the public talking about them. But there won't be an answer until Sunday, I guess - and even then most people won't know

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

^ Are you allowed even say what it was once it's been shown?

johnny_ultimate

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

^ Are you allowed even say what it was once it's been shown?

No idea. You have to email them for the form, which I assume goes into specifics about what is and isn't allowed. But are they going to be stopping people who don't agree to sign it or something I don't really agree with any of this at all, seems like a crazy ask.

Sad Professor

It’s obviously an advance screening of a fairly big film, something which hasn’t screened anywhere else yet. I’m not sure whether we should read too much into the embargo, which may be something Grainne came up with discourage people from slating the film on Twitter afterwards and making it harder for her secure a film next year.

Studio embargoes of press screenings make sense. You have you let critics see the film and write reviews, but you don’t necessarily want them publishing them until the film is released. Embargoing an advanced public screening, however, makes no sense. The only point of such screenings is to build buzz. If a studio was really nervous about a film they just wouldn’t show it.

delbertgrady

I find it absurd that a festival which increasingly relies on - and relentlessly encourages - the use of social media to promote it, is now effectively trying to curb the use of it. Talk about biting the hand that feeds.
Whether this year's film is a sneak preview of a forthcoming blockbuster (something which would be a significant coup, regardless of whether people actually like it or not), or the usual dregs from the distributor's floor, this is a very bad move on the festival's part, not least since - at the Stanley Tucci interview on Saturday - Grainne herself referred to the fact that conversations about film need to be maintained. The festival should be promoting discussion, not censorship.
The batting average of the Surprise Film in the last several years has been appalling, the nadir being the bizarre decision to have two Surprise Films two years ago, both of which were duds, followed by the universal panning that last year's film received.
I'm not saying this is solely Grainne's fault, as distributors may not be willing to part with any Golden Geese for the surprise slot, as they would rather save them for a marquee event, but the fact remains that the tradition of the Surprise Film has become stagnant.
As far as I can see, this latest development is a lose-lose situation for the festival's PR. If it does indeed turn out to be a major release, those who finally gave up on the event this year due to increasingly diminishing returns may feel hard done by. Oh well. You take your chances. You should have bought a ticket. That can't be helped.
However, a significant forthcoming feature is, by its very nature, bound to be a major talking point. Nobody will be able to keep quiet about it, and - as remarked earlier in the thread - it can't be effectively policed anyway, which makes a nonsense of this entire debacle.
Alternatively, if it's another poor choice, then this exercise reeks of damage limitation, and that's an extremely cynical move on the festival's part. If you don't have faith in the quality of your choice, you just have to accept that. You can't encourage people to be discussing the festival on Facebook and Twitter, but add on the caveat that they can only say nice things about the films they've seen.
If you can't stand by the selection, either due to concerns that it will be unpopular or because you've not seen it and can't vouch for it, it's time to pull the plug on the Surprise Film.
Hell, maybe I'm wrong on all counts and they're showing The Day the Clown Cried on Sunday. But I doubt it.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Maybe they've got Noah? Aronofsky has said that he's made the final cut and is sending it to cinemas without any test screenings, maybe he's testing it out on Dublin :eek:

e_e

I'm predicting either Need For Speed or 300.

Sad Professor

The 300 sequel is a possibility. But somehow I can’t see Humphreys going for another action film after last year. She wants a crowd pleaser. The Muppets seems like a safer bet. And if not that, something closer to home like A Long Way Down, although it screened without an embargo at Berlin last week and critics weren’t impressed. The Muppets would be the bigger catch as it hasn’t screened anywhere yet.

Squelchy

The most Gondry that Gondry has ever Gondryed.

Despite how farcical, twee, silly, repetitive, overlong and annoying it was I still liked it. So I dunno, I'm susceptible to his stupid charms.

johnny_ultimate

Yeah I'd say Muppets is the most obvious choice, particularly because it has the whole Irish connection.

I'd love The Raid 2, and think it would make a whole lot of sense given its predecessor's reception at the festival. However, the mind would boggle if a film so reliant on word of mouth was embargoed, and above all I think its running time is the strongest indicator that it simply won't fit into the slot, especially with a red carpet premiere waiting to go minutes later.

Frank ticks all the logical boxes too. Again, would be very peculiar if it was embargoed given that it has been screened already elsewhere.

Noah would be a neat 'get', even if I'm still fairly reserved about it.

I could see something like Captain America being embargoed, since those films are so reliant on the fans' curiosity and avoidance of 'spoilers'. But I'd be incredibly surprised if Dublin could manage that level of premiere a whole month in advance. A snow ball's chance in hell, even.

A Long Way Down has been screened at JDIFF already anyway, so definitely not that!

If it's the 300 prequel, I'm ****ing out of there

Sad Professor

I didn’t realise A Long Way Down had already screened. It has to be The Muppets then.

johnny_ultimate

It could be Death Wish in honour of the late Michael Winner?

Baze

Sad Professor wrote: »

I didn’t realise A Long Way Down had already screened. It has to be The Muppets then.

Don't worry, you didn't miss much:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=89043768&postcount=120


Seen Under The Skin earlier tonight, and having loved both Birth and Sexy Beast, was really anticipating something similar (with regards to high enjoyability factor anyway) but, wasn't to be, as can't say that enjoyed it all much tbh.

It was intriguing, that's for sure. Johansson was amazing, her best performance to date, but just not sure about the film itself. Maybe it needs more than one viewing, but overal, I have to say I found it kinda dull. Interesting for sure, but dull nonetheless.


As for the 'Surprise Film' - I'm thinking there could be a chance of it being X-Men Days of Future Past, as that's the only film I could really see the studio of putting pressure on JDIFF to attempt to make sure that those that see it, remain tight-lipped about it afterwards.

Although, to be honest, if I had to put a bet on it, I would go with it being an Irish film that is due out in June, where the main character is played by an Irish man (who has also written the screenplay) and over a month ago said this about it:

"We just finished editing it.."

Please say it isn't so:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3433074/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

adamski8

Baze wrote: »

Although, to be honest, if I had to put a bet on it, I would go with it being an Irish film that is due out in June, where the main character is played by an Irish man (who has also written the screenplay) and over a month ago said this about it:



Please say it isn't so:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3433074/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

Oh wow, that would be amazing! I would guess that would break some sort of record for people leaving the screening upon seeing the title

e_e

If it is that I can only see it as an inside attempt to do the surprise film in for good.

delbertgrady

e_e wrote: »

If it is that I can only see it as an inside attempt to do the surprise film in for good.

Yeah. It's far too divisive. Few things could be more polarising, though they'd probably argue it was deliberately chosen on the basis that they'd get mass walkouts and as such it could be seen as some form of "art terrorism". :rolleyes:

Memo from Turner

The Mrs Brown movie sounds hilariously inevitable now. But are there any other Irish films imminent? Where the director might have historical reasons to be wary of critics?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2889112/

"Patrick is a warm, open, twenty-six year old virgin schizophrenic…"

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

^ Isn't that film showing at SXSW though? Would they embargo it when they're planning on showing it at other festivals too?

Memo from Turner

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

^ Isn't that film showing at SXSW though? Would they embargo it when they're planning on showing it at other festivals too?

You're probably right. I don't really know how it works. I can't see the point of an embargo for any film.

Sad Professor

Films are sometimes embargoed even after they’ve screened at festivals. Distributors can be weird like that.

I don’t think Surprise Film has ever been an Irish film. A British/American film with Irish connections, yes, but never a bona fide Irish production. What would be the point showing something that could have been screened as part of the main festival with special guests, red carpet, press, etc? All the tickets are sold in advance, so the Surprise Film is a good opportunity for a distributor to test or build buzz for an upcoming film. And if it’s the world premiere of said film, the festival benefits from the publicity, so they obviously want the biggest film they can get, not some little Irish film that they would have no trouble securing anyway.

delbertgrady

Cas and Dylan seemed to be well-liked by the Cineworld audience last night. It's certainly not going to win any prizes for originality, in terms of composition, narrative or character, though some of it shortcomings can be planted firmly in the box marked "due to budget restrictions".
However, even the most cynical observer would have to acknowledge that it was impressive was that it was shot in a mere twenty-one days.
The two leads worked well together, and to the non-critical observer, it was a simple, charming story, albeit occasionally bordering on TV movie territory. (It actually reminded me at times of The Long Way Home, a 1998 road trip MOW with Jack Lemmon).
I deliberately avoided viewing the trailer beforehand, and was glad I had, as it effectively gives the entire film away, including key scenes and crucial lines of dialogue.

e_e

Gare Du Nord was an intriguing one, a loose and rambling plot that was at times beguiling and at others felt like a first draft script. I think they somewhat tried to juggle too much with the ending but I mostly enjoyed it. I think in the end I loved the concept more than the film itself though.

Loved The Congress and it's my 3rd favorite of the fest so far. A film with big ideas, impressive visuals and ambition to boot. Very original hybrid of live action/animation.