Theatrical

By Sean Axmaker

"When it was over, I couldn't move," writes David Gates in Newsweek. "Despite a couple of slow stretches - and Dylan has them, too - I'm Not There turns out to be worthy of its subject. This isn't faint praise. It's a full-on rave."

And raves are just what Todd Haynes's new film has been reaping ever since it premiered in Venice before wowing 'em at festivals in Toronto and New York. Though there have been exceptions to prove the rule, of course. Hardly a surprise when it comes to a film running over two hours and featuring six actors portraying various aspects and personas of one of the most lauded yet mysterious artists of our time.

Sean Axmaker talks with Haynes about a cinematic highlight of the year, I'm Not There, which is now out on DVD.

» continue reading "Todd Haynes and a Whole Slew of Dylans"

The idea of two men directing a documentary about a summer camp for pre-teen girls might inevitably raise some red flags. But Arne Johnson and Shane King use their outsider status to craft an incredibly thoughtful and creative film about the Portland-based Rock'n'Roll Camp for Girls. The result, Girls Rock!, is a moving portrait of (to quote the luminous philosopher, Madonna) what it feels like for a girl, holding equal appeal for documentary film lovers, parents, fans of rock'n'roll and anyone who grew up as a weird kid in a town without pity.

Girls Rock! focuses on four girls attending the camp for the first time. Over the course of one week campers create bands, learn instruments, write songs and then perform for a sold out crowd. Because the concept of Rock'n'Roll camp grew out of a third wave feminist ethos, the campers are also taught basic media literacy, self-defense and how to communicate feelings of isolation or frustration that young people (especially girls) are often told to squelch. Erin Donovan spoke to Arne Johnson before he headed off to the True/False documentary film festival in Columbia, MO.

Girls Rock! opens in select cities March 7th.

» continue reading "Girls Rock! An Interview with Arne Johnson"

We here at GreenCine sometimes wish we could erase some of the films we carry and start over, but since they're DVDs and we're just being silly, better to let a visionary filmmaker imagine how this scenario might play out.

Be Kind Rewind is a one-of-a-kind comedy from the mind of writer/director Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Jack Black stars as a loveable loser stuck in a life that's too small for his big dreams. But when he unintentionally erases all the tapes in a video store where his best friend works, he devises a plan to satisfy the store's few loyal customers by re-creating and re-filming every movie they decide to rent. Be Kind Rewind features a cast also featuring Mos Def, plus Danny Glover and Mia Farrow. The film is scheduled for a Feb 22, 2008 release. Now, thanks to the generosity of New Line Cinema and GreenCine, you can win a copy of the official soundtrack and some cool movie merchandise (items TBD), if you're one of five (5) lucky winners of GreenCine's latest contest.

Click below for details on entering your name in this drawing!

» continue reading "Be Kind Rewind: Contest!"

"Andrew Sarris once wrote about the 'bread-and-butter' Western and the 'blue ribbon' Western," writes Jeffrey M. Anderson at his excellent site, Combustible Celluloid. "The latter, ultra-serious example tried to make the Western more important by adding outside elements, but at the same time it sapped all the fun and very nearly killed the genre. Now James Mangold has brought it back with this strapping 'bread and butter' example."

Not only does Jeffrey give the new 3:10 to Yuma [official site] 3½ stars out of 4, he also tips his hat to one of its stars, Peter Fonda, whose The Hired Hand is "one of the best Westerns of the 1970s." Here, he talks with Mangold and Fonda about their lively takes on the genre.

3:10 to Yuma is now out on DVD.

» continue reading "James Mangold & Peter Fonda: Mad About Yuma"

"If an audience is seeing a movie to live another life - which I think is one of the attractions of seeing movies; you get to be out of your own life and live some other life that maybe you [wouldn't] ever really want to live but you're curious about - so, I'm saying, if you're a Nikolai in the movie, then you're going to experience this. I'm not going to throw it away, do it off camera, and do it frivolously. All the hard work and the difficulty of killing someone, if that's what this character has to do, I want you to feel it and see it."

That's David Cronenberg, talking to Michael Guillén about his new film, Eastern Promises. Also on hand to talk about this character, Nikolai, is the man who plays him, Viggo Mortensen.

Eastern Promises is now out on DVD. 

» continue reading "David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen and the Hard Work of Killing"

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

He's only 28, but James McAvoy has already played roles originally conceived by a mini-pantheon of British literary greats: Shakespeare and Jane Austen, for starters. Evelyn Waugh and C.S. Lewis. And contemporaries such as Zadie Smith, Giles Foden, and now, Ian McEwan.

In screenwriter Christopher Hampton and director Joe Wright's adaptation of McEwan's widely acclaimed novel Atonement, James McAvoy plays Robbie Turner, a young man whose promising future is decimated by a single lie.

Jeffrey M. Anderson talks with him about class, war and getting into "the zone" for one very long, very celebrated shot.

» continue reading "James McAvoy: "I Am Very Lucky""

In theatres October 19th, Rendition stars Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal (yep, those two on again, off again items), Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard and Alan Arkin. Witherspoon plays the American wife of an Egyptian-born chemical engineer who disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington. The woman desperately tries to track her husband down, while a CIA analyst (Gyllenhaal) at a secret detention facility outside the U.S. is forced to question his assignment as he becomes party to the man's unorthodox interrogation.

Now, thanks to the generosity of New Line, five (5) lucky winners of our Rendition contest will receive a New Line DVD Pack! Titles in the gift pack include Little Children, Fracture and Prairie Home Companion. Entrants should send an email to contest@greencine.com, including your name, email address and, if you're a GreenCine member, your username in the email, and "Rendition" in the subject header. Entries without all this information will not be considered. (You will not be added to a mailing list!)

Five winners will be selected at random from all valid entries. The deadline is Monday, October 22. Winners will be notified by e-mail and announced in future editions of the GreenCine Dispatch newsletter.

By Sean Axmaker

In Christopher Boe's Allegro [official site], a world acclaimed concert pianist (played by Ulrich Thomsen) is formally invited to reclaim his lost past. You see, it's preserved in an impenetrable and inexplicable bubble in the center of Copenhagen. Imagine a cross between Andrei Tarkovksy and The Matrix, with a whimsical flair and a mischievous narrator (Henning Moritzen) who may be a guardian angel, an ironic devil, or simply an existential master of ceremonies.

Boe's latest feature Allegro is now on DVD.

» continue reading "Catching Up with Christoffer Boe"