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A goosebump moment

WOW, WOW, and WOW. I was so worried when I heard Where the Wild Things Are was being made into a movie (even with the great Spike Jonze directing), but I have watched this trailer five times this morning and gotten chills every time. Turn out the lights, download in HD, maximize the window, turn the speakers waaaay up, and see if the same doesn’t happen to you…

One more note on Battlestar Galactica

I second everything Josh says about (the new) Battlestar Galactica on the Paste site (which you should all be reading, by the way!), and I’d add one more caveat/exhortation. My wife watched the first episode with me and begged off continuing because of the lack of softness in any of the characters; everyone seemed to have inexorably hard edges. It was a valid criticism, but needless to say I now wish she had stuck with it. The show’s moments of tenderness are all the more striking for their being so hard-fought and won at such great cost. These are not hard people, these are people made hard by living in a time of war, living in a time of constant threat of annihilation. The brief flashes we get to see of the almost desperate softness beneath all the armor are mesmerizing. So stick with it.

2009 Dunnies for Achievement in Film

In lieu of a full essay on Film in 2008, I have copied below my contributions to Paste’s “Who Will Win/Who Should Win/Who Was Overlooked” column, which you can see here.

As is my custom, I have also listed my top ten films of the year below, with my Best Picture nominees starred, and the 2009 Dunnies for Achievement in Film. This year I think I saw most of the most acclaimed films out there, including all 26 of the full-length narrative films nominated for Academy Awards.

Sundance Documentary Features Roundup (for Paste Magazine)

Unabridged version of my article for Paste; published version here.

Afghan Star was one of the real thrills of the festival. Originally I wasn’t interested in the film based on its written description – an examination of Afghanistan’s version of American Idol. I thought the point of the film would be “Look how cute, the Afghans have Idol!” But thank goodness I happened upon director Havana Marking being interviewed in the press room and talked to her afterward, because I couldn’t have been more wrong about the spirit of the film. At its heart Afghan Star is a social justice documentary, as it explores two of the most stunning effects the show has had on the country – an increase in national unity as contestants whon are members of different racial and ethnic groups from the bouillabaisse-esque mix of Aghans work together and are seen befriending each other on camera, and the debate engendered when female contestants are seen singing and even dancing on camera. It’s not entirely a feel-good story. There are tense moments of real danger (and they continue even now) for the female contestants. But the show, and the film itself, are inspiring testaments to the power of art to transform society. It’s a damn fun ride along the way, too — Marking won the documentary directing award, and it was richly deserved. Keep an eye out for this one.

Sundance Narrative Features Roundup (for Paste Magazine)

Unabridged version of the Paste article — published version here.

Sundance Narrative Film Roundup
By Michael Dunaway

The Informers is a hot mess of a film. Once I tell you it’s based on a Bret Easton Ellis novel, you probably have a lot of strengths and weaknesses running through your mind, and they all end up being true. The film does a great job of capturing a mood that I suspect really did exist among the young idle rich in the eighties, a mood of languid decadence, casual sex and creeping alienation. And cocaine. Lots of cocaine. And hair gel. The script has some really clever moments. The actors are mostly adequate, with Mickey Rourke turning in yet another pitch-perfect performance and Kim Basinger once again doing well the quietly desperate aging beauty. But at its core the film has nothing, is about nothing, says nothing. And if even if nothingness is the point, that’s not enough.

The Cult at Harry O’s, Park City — Sundance (for Paste Magazine)

Unabridged version of an article I wrote for Paste Magazine; published version here.

Sometimes you spend years waiting for something, then you turn around and see that it’s popped up out of nowhere, right in front of you. Of all the bands I regretted having never seen, The Cult was very near the top of the list. For one thing, no one else sounds like them – that crazy blend of rock, metal, and goth that I’m not sure anyone else even ever attempted, much less achieved. They also play music that always seemed to me to be perfectly suited to a live venue, and especially to the sense of Dionysian craziness that can grip a rock crowd in those magical, inspired moments.

The Cult were one of the seminal bands of my late high school and college years, and because I didn’t much care for their albums that came out later, they’re forever frozen in that time for me. Every time I hear She Sells Sanctuary, I’m back on the floor of my dorm room with a speaker on each side of my head, losing myself in the wild abandon of the song. Many of my other favorite bands from that time either moved on to become a part of my later life as well, or faded from influence in my life. But The Cult retains its place as the soundtrack to that era for me.

So when I rounded a corner at the world-famous Harry O’s in Park City Utah and came face to face with The Cult doing a soundcheck, my knees actually buckled. Ian Freaking Astbury was singing 20 feet away from me, and I was one of a dozen people in the room. I sat mesmerized and watched, feeling like a kid again. It was like being turned loose in Disneyland after hours.

Sundance Music Roundup (for Paste Magazine)

Here’s the unabridged version of the music roundup I did for Paste. Published version here.

By the way, music was the biggest surprise of the festival for me. I was expecting to see world class films, but the folks at Harry O’s really put together an impressive roster of musical talent for the week. And those guys know how to throw a party! Be sure to include music shows at Harry O’s and Tatou in the budget for your next Sundance trip.

Sundance Music Roundup
By Michael Dunaway

Cee-Lo is best known by hipsters these days as the vocal half of Gnarls Barkley, thanks to the inescapable 2006 single “Crazy” and two smash hit albums. But he released a couple of truly brilliant solo albums in his own right (scoring a hit with “I’ll Be Around”), and of course before that was a driving force in the seminal hip hop group Goodie Mob. His show at Harry O’s in Park City UT during Sundance was somewhat hampered by his having to use Big Boi’s band (and by his not being able to rehearse with them until that afternoon), but his talent and charm are undeniable and carried the set. The aforementioned “I’ll Be Around” was a highlight, with one of the funkiest hooks in recent years and one of the greatest opening couplets in hip hop history (it’s got a word better left unprinted in Paste, so you’ll have to check it out for yourself). And of course the crowd was delirious when he launched into “Crazy.” Cee-Lo has one of the winningest personalities on the scene, and it shows on stage.

Thriller in Manila (review for Paste)

Talk about iconoclastic. The hagiography of Cassius Clay, aka Muhammad Ali, is so overpowering in the annals of American sports history (indeed, in American history full stop) that any whiff of dissent is treated as blasphemous and is grounds for immediate disdain and shunning. If you don’t believe me, just criticize Ali at a dinner party and watch the sparks fly. I speak from multiple experiences. So it’s all the more audacious that John Dower chose to film a feature-length documentary on the legendary Ali-Frazier fight in Manila from Joe Frazier’s point of view, a point of view that is awfully convincing and casts the legendary Ali in a decidedly less than flattering light.

Ma Bar (review for Paste)

It’s hard enough to leave a film audience wanting more when you’ve got 90-120 minutes to get their attention in a feature film, much less in the more limited span of a short. But if, in just three minutes, you can show enough of a story that the viewer can’t stop thinking about the “befores,” “afters,” and “concurrentlys,” you’ve really accomplished something. Such is the case with Ma Bar, a documentary short by a pair of Scots — rising star Adrian McDowell (nominated, among other things, for XFM Music Video of the Year) and hot newcomer Finlay Pretsell (shortlisted for the Grierson Best Newcomer award). In profiling 73 year old Scottish weightlifter Bill McFadyen, they make the audacious choice to jump straight in medias res, with no directorial narration or subtitling and no backstory. And there’s no “whatever happened to” at the end of the film either. All we get is the voice of McFadyen himself, speaking about his philosophy of competition, including the stunningly matter-of-fact “Losing I don’t tolerate,” which appears on the film’s poster. Beautifully shot black-and-white footage of the powerlifter in his home and at competition complete the piece. A week later, I’m still thinking about it. An impressive feat, indeed.