Recent American indie films

Moderators: Elvis, DrVolin, Jeff

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Luther Blissett » Sat Jan 31, 2015 2:43 pm

100% agree on "Greenburg", that character is almost a perfect cipher of my former best friend and it drove me crazy.

I listened to the Marc Maron WTF podcast with Mark Duplass and only then realized how seriously he takes himself and how pretentious he is, it definitely changed my perception of him. The way he presented himself in the interview was pretty obnoxious. You're probably right in that "Safety Not Guaranteed" would have been even better with someone else in that role.

"Frances Ha" is carried on the strength of Greta Gerwig's likability but I have to warn you that it's very "Greenberg"-esque.
The Rich and the Corporate remain in their hundred-year fever visions of Bolsheviks taking their stuff - JackRiddler
User avatar
Luther Blissett
 
Posts: 4990
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:31 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Nordic » Sun Feb 01, 2015 12:08 am

We'll have to agree to disagree on Greenburg. :)

Yeah, some of these people I know personally ..... so ..... Not Baumbach. And I have worked with Jenny Slate. She's a force of nature, and really pretty awesome.
"He who wounds the ecosphere literally wounds God" -- Philip K. Dick
Nordic
 
Posts: 14230
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:36 am
Location: California USA
Blog: View Blog (6)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Luther Blissett » Sun Feb 01, 2015 3:26 pm

Oh I strongly disliked Greenberg. One of my least-liked films, probably. I think we're on the same page.
The Rich and the Corporate remain in their hundred-year fever visions of Bolsheviks taking their stuff - JackRiddler
User avatar
Luther Blissett
 
Posts: 4990
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:31 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Wombaticus Rex » Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:23 pm

Just caught "It Follows" - a horror film due for release a little later this year - damn.

Won't say a thing about the plot, but suffice it to say this was a very fresh, smart film with a gnawing nightmare of an idea behind it.

Especially impressive for the photography -- and apparently the director (David Roberts, I think?) is one of those hands-on auteurs and he is Fincher-type talented with making even average scenes compelling.
User avatar
Wombaticus Rex
 
Posts: 10896
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 6:33 pm
Location: Vermontistan
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Nordic » Tue Feb 10, 2015 4:31 am

Wombaticus Rex » Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:23 pm wrote:Just caught "It Follows" - a horror film due for release a little later this year - damn.

Won't say a thing about the plot, but suffice it to say this was a very fresh, smart film with a gnawing nightmare of an idea behind it.

Especially impressive for the photography -- and apparently the director (David Roberts, I think?) is one of those hands-on auteurs and he is Fincher-type talented with making even average scenes compelling.




Cool. That just premiered at Sundance, did it not? I saw some press about it, it did look pretty interesting.

The other night I happened to watch Greg Araki's "The Mysterious Skin". Yikes. "Could Be Triggering" is the theme of that one. I'm still having trouble getting that one out of my head.

It's very R.I. It's probably been discussed here before. But man is it disturbing. Spoiler: It involves sexual abuse of children.
"He who wounds the ecosphere literally wounds God" -- Philip K. Dick
Nordic
 
Posts: 14230
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:36 am
Location: California USA
Blog: View Blog (6)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby coffin_dodger » Tue Feb 10, 2015 5:24 am

Not sure if it counts as American Indie, but it's not mainstream - I thoroughly enjoyed ' Frank ' recently. Totally not the usual Hollywood-violence-schmooze-cliche-fest. Great focus on the perception of 'being different' and ultimately, 'best intentions, gone bad'.
User avatar
coffin_dodger
 
Posts: 2216
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:05 am
Location: UK
Blog: View Blog (14)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Nordic » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:58 pm

Not really what this thread is about but last night saw Silver Linings Playbook finally.

I had avoided it because I thought it might hit a little too close to home, but it was actually really good and oddly uplifting considering the subject matter. I actually shed a few tears at the end.
"He who wounds the ecosphere literally wounds God" -- Philip K. Dick
Nordic
 
Posts: 14230
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:36 am
Location: California USA
Blog: View Blog (6)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Luther Blissett » Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:08 pm

I watched "What If" last night, which was enjoyable enough and funny, but which I probably wouldn't recommend. It might also be Canadian since it takes place in Toronto and the young people have idyllic careers.

However, it brought up "Bad Turn Worse" which was great and which I think I failed to mention in my earlier list.
The Rich and the Corporate remain in their hundred-year fever visions of Bolsheviks taking their stuff - JackRiddler
User avatar
Luther Blissett
 
Posts: 4990
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:31 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Nordic » Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:09 pm

What's funny is that it's really difficult to find movies that I actually want to watch these days.

I have Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu and it's still really fifficult to find movies that look at all enticing.

Spent the last couple of nights watching the French movie "Chloe" with Marion Coittard, which was pretty good and last night started "Blue is the Warmest color" which is a beautiful romantic coming of age movie, intercut with some of the hottest lesbian sex porn ever photographed. Weird movie. But long.

All the good stuff is TV these days. Seriously, that's where the best work is being done. Yet I want to make a movie so I'm watching movies for inspiration. Go figure. Things have changed.
"He who wounds the ecosphere literally wounds God" -- Philip K. Dick
Nordic
 
Posts: 14230
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:36 am
Location: California USA
Blog: View Blog (6)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby justdrew » Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:50 pm

well, it's not exactly "indie" but...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyhood_%28film%29

looks to be a singular achievement, though I haven't seen it yet.
By 1964 there were 1.5 million mobile phone users in the US
User avatar
justdrew
 
Posts: 11966
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 7:57 pm
Location: unknown
Blog: View Blog (11)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Nordic » Wed Feb 18, 2015 5:43 am

"Boyhood" is pretty Indie. I can't wait to see it. The trailer blew me away. It's one of those ideas that you might get and dismiss as being impossible to actually pull off, but Linklater actually went and did it!

I just finished "Blue is the warmest Color". It's an amazing movie. The actresses are simply astounding, the performances are as raw and honest as anything ever put to film. Even though it's very long it's engrossing and compelling. I was amazed. The sex scenes still seem to me to be a bit unnecessarily over the top. But if you want eroticism, well, they're insanely erotic.

Now what? It's only 1:39am, time to find a new one.
"He who wounds the ecosphere literally wounds God" -- Philip K. Dick
Nordic
 
Posts: 14230
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:36 am
Location: California USA
Blog: View Blog (6)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Wombaticus Rex » Wed Mar 11, 2015 10:57 pm

"Buzzard" - exactly the kind of low-scale slice of life movie I usually cannot abide. It really won me over.

Researching the director was interesting, it's a whole team from the midwest -- good interview here:
http://nofilmschool.com/2015/03/high-pr ... l-potrykus

Also worth reading through the comments - much LULZ to be had as the director himself replies to the snark.
User avatar
Wombaticus Rex
 
Posts: 10896
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 6:33 pm
Location: Vermontistan
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Luther Blissett » Wed Apr 22, 2015 9:53 am

I posted this in the "Films of a Certain Quality" thread. But hoo-boy is this film great. Miniature Kubrickian layers.

Luther Blissett » Wed Apr 01, 2015 9:59 am wrote:It Follows is going to be one of my favorite films of the year, I can just feel it. This is coming highly recommended. I love atmospheric films that say more with their implicit nature than with their explicit formal qualities (see Kubrick) and this one doesn't disappoint. I'm going to have to give it multiple viewings to try to analyze some of the background and settings.

One of the most interesting things about this movie is that it takes place in a parallel universe, though it's subtle. Near the beginning the characters are watching a black and white flying saucer film on a tube television (a motif repeated throughout) even though they're wearing contemporary clothes; there does not seem to be "an internet" or "social media" though one character carries a sufficiently technologically advanced device in the form of a seashell makeup compact, with which she reads books (Dostoevsky) and poetry; Detroit is already collapsed; cars and signage are all disjointed and out-of-time; college coursework appears as giant folded paper charts and tables (in a class on Prufrock). I loved this about the movie and it's totally separate from the horror on-screen, the performances and the score (all of which are great).

I'm not going to post the trailer because I don't think it does the film justice. But if you like atmospheric, dreamy, well-crafted horror, I implore you to go see it.

If you worry that this is some kind of morality play, it definitely isn't.

http://io9.com/it-follows-proves-that-h ... 1691019297
http://www.avclub.com/review/it-follows ... ge--216311
The Rich and the Corporate remain in their hundred-year fever visions of Bolsheviks taking their stuff - JackRiddler
User avatar
Luther Blissett
 
Posts: 4990
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:31 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Nordic » Tue Nov 17, 2015 5:49 am

Just saw a sweet little movie called "Hello Lonesome". Looked real low budget but not in a bad way, and the stories in it were just ... Sweet. Made on the east coast, I think in New Jersey.
"He who wounds the ecosphere literally wounds God" -- Philip K. Dick
Nordic
 
Posts: 14230
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:36 am
Location: California USA
Blog: View Blog (6)

Re: Recent American indie films

Postby Wombaticus Rex » Sat Dec 19, 2015 1:31 pm

"Pod." Whooo. That whole crew Larry Fessenden runs with has been in peak form the past few years -- I had figured the flawless and heartbroken ghost story We Are Still Here would stand as their best work, but I was wrong.

You can really see the payoff of all the studying and repetition -- much like Still Here, although the big set pieces and plot reveals are all gold, but it's the tiny, passing details that make the film. The pacing and framing suit the story so well. And when you're operating on a micro-budget, well...they fucking better.
User avatar
Wombaticus Rex
 
Posts: 10896
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 6:33 pm
Location: Vermontistan
Blog: View Blog (0)

Previous

Return to The Lounge & Member News

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests