Bohemian Life

Slacker - Criterion Collection

Richard Linklater's debut feature is a comic kaleidoscopic portrait of the quirky characters stuck in a college town (it's Austin, Texas, but it could stand for hundreds of such places), a devilishly clever and endlessly inventive film that overcomes its nothing budget with scene after hilarious scene of short, sharp cinematic shots. Structured something like Luis Buñuel's The Phantom of Liberty, Slacker is a comic series of character pieces, each lasting a few minutes before the camera picks up and follows someone, perhaps simply an extra in the scene, to the next conversation. Characters spout off theories on everything from JFK and Charles Whitman (we even get an eerie glimpse of the water tower he climbed for his killing spree) to Elvis and UFOs, and more (wanna buy a Madonna pap smear?) on our bohemian tour of a condensed day-in-the-life. Linklater lets the characters set the pace but provides a loose, almost imperceptible rhythm to the film as a whole, giving a kind of structure to what seems like a series of improvisations. But the heart of the film is the freewheeling array of obsessed, self-absorbed, or simply lost souls wandering streets and coffee shops ready to talk your ear off about absolutely nothing. Killing time has never been more fun. --Sean Axmaker

Richard Linklater's Slacker presents a day in the life of a subculture of marginal, eccentric, and overeducated citizens in and around the University of Texas at Austin. Shooting the film on 16mm for a mere $23,000, writer/producer/director Linklater and his close-knit crew of friends eschewed a traditional plot, choosing instead to employ long takes and fluid transitions to create a tapestry of over a hundred characters, each as unique as the last, culminating in an episodic portrait of a distinct vernacular culture and a tribute to bohemian cerebration. Slacker is a prescient look at an emerging generation of aggressive nonparticipants, and one of the keynote films of the American independent film movement of the 1990s.

Sirens

Australian filmmaker John Duigan (The Year My Voice Broke, Wide Sargasso Sea) has a taste for sensual art direction that occasionally flares up in a big, big way. With Sirens, he manages to turn oceans of female nudity into a slightly tongue-in-cheek decorousness that is neither unpersuasively arty nor purely soft porn. Starring Hugh Grant (and released the same year as two other Grant vehicles, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bitter Moon, thus establishing him as a star), the film finds the handsome, stammering actor playing an Anglican priest newly posted to Australia. There, the clergyman's first mission is to convince a famously libertarian artist (Sam Neill) not to exhibit a painting with mixed erotic and religious themes. The experience of being at their host's anything-goes compound for a few days, however, nestled deep in the wilds and keeping company with uninhibited, frequently naked models proves terribly stirring for Grant and his character's timid wife (Tara Fitzgerald), the two of them a study in sexual repression. The film doesn't have a point so much as it does an appealing atmosphere of unbridled naturalism counterpointed by Grant's charming self-consciousness. Once you've grown accustomed to the phenomenal sight of an unclothed Elle Macpherson (who is actually very good in her acting debut as a semi-savage model) wandering toward the bank of a river, for instance, you realize she's only part of the amazing flora and fauna enriching this pocket of earth and the souls of our principal characters. --Tom Keogh

Sexy and spirited, this endearingly funny comedy has captivated moviegoers everywhere! The charming Hugh Grant (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) plays an idealistic young minister on a mission. He must tame the wicked ways of a notorious artist (Sam Neill -- JURASSIC PARK), whose nude paintings of his beautiful models (including sexy supermodel Elle MacPherson) scandalize the nation! Intent on delivering salvation, the repressed reverend and his wife instead are led into temptation by their playfully seductive hosts and sensuous new surroundings! Enchantingly sexy fun from beginning to end -- you too will find the allure of SIRENS irresistible!

New York Stories

Collection of three films about life in modern-day New York.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 8-APR-2003
Media Type: DVD

Three views of life in the city of all cities comprise this film, with segments directed by Woody Allen, Francis Coppola, and Martin Scorsese. The best of the three is "Life Lessons," directed by Scorsese, about an artist (played by Nick Nolte) who uses his hypersuccess to lure beautiful young aspiring artists to serve as his assistant/lovers. The segment is an astute portrait of the nature of the New York art world. In "Life Without Zoe," Coppola portrays the life of the privileged Zoe, the daughter of a world-renowned flutist, whose adventures on the Upper East Side (in the upper echelons of society) play like something approaching a cartoon. Woody Allen finishes up the film with his "Oedipus Wrecks," a typical Allen number about a successful New York lawyer who's still hounded by his mother--the title tells you all you need to know. Though stronger segments to complement Scorsese's would have made this film much more interesting and enjoyable, it does provide an accurate glimpse into this wondrous city and is a must-see for anyone fascinated by New York. --James McGrath

Legal Eagles

Robert Redford, usually a pretty good judge of material, got snookered badly in this Ivan Reitman comedy that also starred Debra Winger and Daryl Hannah. Redford is a rising assistant D.A. who is prosecuting a woman (Hannah) for theft of a painting by her father. Before he knows what hit him, he's involved romantically both with the defendant and with her scattered lawyer (Winger). Redford is as good as he can be, given the circumstances, but this is a movie that doesn't know where it's going. Originally intended as a serious film about the legal wrangling over the estate of the late Mark Rothko, this film quickly degenerated when the script was turned over to Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., whose sparkling oeuvre includes Turner and Hooch. --Marshall Fine

Hi, Mom!

Robert De Niro stars as a would-be pornographer turnedurban guerilla in this hilarious odyssey through a surreal 60s landscape of campy counterculture that keeps youlaughing all the way!System Requirements: Running Time 87 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 027616915245 Manufacturer No: 1007443

Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss

First-time director Tommy O'Haver garnered a lot of critical acclaim for this contribution to the "new queer cinema." But he seems more clued in as to its weight than the reviewers. O'Haver rightly calls Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss a Tommy O'Haver "trifle" in the credits and he's on the money in estimating what his film is worth. For sure, the movie has much going for it; it's wholeheartedly enjoyable and packed with the usual dynamic that saturates most gay-themed films: what does one do when that object of desire is heterosexual? In this case O'Haver at least gives his protagonist, Billy, played by Sean P. Hayes, another obsession besides the Brad Pitt-lookalike, prophetically named Gabriel, who is enigmatically acted by Brad Rowe. This is because Billy is a photographer, as addicted to finding the perfect picture as the perfect man. His world is formed by old movies: From Here to Eternity and Imitation of Life are his criteria and the flirty foreplay by which to gauge whether or not a love will have stamina and staying power. Of course, Billy is bound to be disappointed by gay-friendly Gabriel, who is struggling in his own way as much as Billy. Full of the usual mix of second-string players who inhabit the gay milieu (e.g., the best female friend who has man trouble of her own, and the older, secure pal who has secretly held Billy in his sights for some time), O'Haver's film breaks the mold by keeping to a dark note. It resembles a Pedro Almodovar spectacle initially with its saturated look and primary-color palette. But three-fourths through, Billy and his gang walk into the contemporary gay equivalent of a Gidget movie. The shift is surprising and even sometimes funny. Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss has a lot going for it, but it's still just a trifle, and not a milestone in the genre. --Paula Nechak

Committed

Heather Graham (Boogie Nights, Bowfinger) stars as Joline, a New York club owner who takes her word very, very seriously. When she marries photographer Carl (Luke Wilson of Bottle Rocket) for better or for worse, she means it. So when he leaves her and goes to Texas to find himself, she decides to follow him--after she puts the daisies he left for her in a blender and turns them into a puree. She tracks him down through a mixture of luck and magic, and starts to integrate herself into Carl's life without him knowing it. She encourages his editor to give Carl better assignments, she becomes friends with a woman he's dating, she protects him from that woman's jealous ex-lover. And all this while, as she sits in her parked car staring intently at Carl's trailer, one of his neighbors attempts to befriend and woo her. Committed is a mixture of quirky characters and off-kilter humor that didn't go over well in theaters, even though it was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival. But though its story meanders, it explores love relationships from many sides, with a gentle but clear-eyed freshness. Joline could be viewed as an obsessive stalker, but Graham invests her character with faith and charm that grows more and more engaging as the movie goes on--plus, she wears a number of tight-fitting hipster outfits and looks fabulous. The supporting cast--including Casey Affleck (Desert Blue) and Dylan Baker (Happiness)--is excellent. Committed may seem a little unfocused, but it's also genuinely unpredictable and comes together in surprising ways. A sweet, subtle movie. --Bret Fetzer

Sexy Heather Graham (AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, BOWFINGER) leads a hilarious cast in an outrageously high-spirited comedy about the crazy things people will do for love! When Joline (Graham) discovers that her husband has abruptly left her in an effort to "find himself," she drops everything and drives out of New York City in search of her stray spouse! Then, after finally tracking him down in the west Texas desert, Joline demonstrates that she'll do anything to win him back! Also featuring Casey Affleck (DROWNING MONA, GOOD WILL HUNTING), Goran Visnijc (TV's ER), and Luke Wilson (MY DOG SKIP) -- all roads lead to love, laughter, and loyalty in this critically acclaimed comedy treat!

And the Ship Sails On - Criterion Collection

Federico Fellini's 1984 And the Ship Sails On is one of the late master's most fanciful projects, while simultaneously striking one of the most somber notes in the director's filmography. The year is 1914, the eve of World War I and the coming destruction of Europe's old, cultured aristocracy, an elite class mourned in many a film from Renoir's The Grand Illusion to Truffaut's The Green Room. A luxury liner sets sail from Italy, full of artists, a royal entourage, and one rhinoceros. The point of the voyage is to scatter the ashes of a world-famous diva, but the exotic passengers--blithely unaware of the imminent conflict--have many, more private intrigues going on behind closed doors. Still, it is the self-containment and formality of these travelers, at once absurd and moving, that sticks with the viewer: the way the many singers, musicians, and conductors (and one plump archduke) seem aware, in public, of embodying a privileged history. Fellini films all the action aboard an impressively lush and blatantly artificial set, with a painted sky, paper moon, and cellophane sea, all underscoring the dreamy, precious nature of this adventure. The camera itself becomes a kind of character via a determined journalist (Freddie Jones) who speaks to us directly, drawing the film into vaguely obscene disruptions of an otherwise serene formalism. --Tom Keogh

In Fellini's quirky, imaginative fable, a motley crew of European aristocrats (and a lovesick rhinoceros!) board a luxurious ocean liner on the eve of World War I to scatter the ashes of a beloved diva. Fabricated entirely in Rome's famed Cinecittà studios, And the Ship Sails On (E la nave va) reaches spectacular new visual heights with its stylized re-creation of a decadent bygone era. Criterion is proud to present this rarely-seen gem in an exclusive widescreen transfer with new English subtitles.

Legal Eagles

Robert Redford, usually a pretty good judge of material, got snookered badly in this Ivan Reitman comedy that also starred Debra Winger and Daryl Hannah. Redford is a rising assistant D.A. who is prosecuting a woman (Hannah) for theft of a painting by her father. Before he knows what hit him, he's involved romantically both with the defendant and with her scattered lawyer (Winger). Redford is as good as he can be, given the circumstances, but this is a movie that doesn't know where it's going. Originally intended as a serious film about the legal wrangling over the estate of the late Mark Rothko, this film quickly degenerated when the script was turned over to Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., whose sparkling oeuvre includes Turner and Hooch. --Marshall Fine

A hard-nosed assistant district attorney and an imaginitive defense attorney find themselves on the same side of the legal process to defend a spacy performance artist accused of art theft and murder.

He Died With A Felafel In His Hand

He Died with a Felafel in His Hand is the February selection in the Film Movement Series. Danny (Noah Taylor) is living in the 47th shared house of his late twenties. Obsessed with all the classic male existential dilemmas and the icons that they entail, Danny is trying to make sense of the bizarre and unexpected strangeness one can only get by living with a random series of complete strangers. Starting in the tropical, testosterone-riddled environment of Brisbane, with an overabundance males and one tomboyish girl, Sam (Emily Hamilton), Danny decides to save himself by writing the ultimate existentialist novel. The arrival of Anya (Romane Bohringer) and a Miami Vice style rental dilemma, throws his life and ultimately the house he is living in, completely off track. House #48 is in Melbourne... rain, sleet, serious young insects and dressing in black. Danny finds himself in a Kafkaesque nightmare, taking on the character of the city with a pair of philosophising Detectives and a hard-core collection of his drop-kick followers who end up discovering that in state of Victoria, the police have a tendency to shoot to kill. Escaping to Sydney and House #49, Danny comes up hard against a Melrose on Acid meets a Hetero-Fascist Sterility Conspiracy life-style conundrum in a city that is busily re-inventing itself into a new Los Angeles with ocean views. In amongst this nightmare, he is dragged kicking and screaming into an emotional upheaval that finally points the way to his own salvation. Throughout it all, Danny finds himself involved in a seemingly unresolvable love triangle between three people who are doomed to chase each other through Hell in a never-ending, unrequited, daisy-chain of desire. Subscribers to Film Movement receive an award-winning film such as He Died with a Felafel in his Hand each month to own on DVD.