Let Me Be Fictional HD Trailer

The LET ME BE FICTIONAL trailer is now online in HD thanks to the people at Vimeo.

Check it here

The Edge of Heaven

Mona and I attended a sold out screening of this Turkish-German production the other night. Having seen Fatih Akin's last narrative feature, Head-on, we were very pleased to have acquired tickets for this new offering.

The film follows the lives of three parents and their complicated relationships with their children. All the characters manage to interact in some way or another. The interweaving of these three stories never feels forced or written.

Head-On was a hard act to follow but I believe Fatih has topped himself with this one. This movie has a lot of the elements I am drawn to. There is never any heavy handed exposition or characters directly addressing there problems to those around them. Most importantly this movie never telegraphs the plot or the ending, something Hollywood eschewed years ago. This is drama of the highest order and the world of international cinema has a new master to add to the likes of Lukas Moodysson, Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Michael Winterbottom.

Beyond Control at the film fest

So we've gone to see a couple of films so far at VIFF. They were both pretty average, not bad by any means just average.

The first was Control which I was really excited about seeing. It started off great and then petered out around the half-way mark. All parties involved were great except the director and screenwriter.
So what happened? After the band received some critical and financial success this is when Ian starts to get depressed, cheats on his wife, becomes epileptic and starts drinking more. Don't get me wrong I love depressing movies but this one wasn't one of those so-dreary-it-makes-me-happy ones.

At the start of the picture there is a lot of great humour and amazingly real moments...plus the music was fantastic (apparently the actors all sang and played their instruments). The live performance of Transmission really fucking hit me hard.

Writing a movie based on a memoir can't be easy and trying to explain why someone kills themselves is even harder. I don't think they truly cracked the problem and should have gone at it with more intensity. Until this writer-director team (if they ever work together again) figures out how to get past problems like this they will never be in the class of the great interior realists like Lars Von Trier and Bergman.

I just kept thinking about the movie C.R.A.Z.Y. and how similar it's opening was to Control's. The lead characters are lying on their beds smoking and lip syncing to a Bowie tune. In the later I just felt claustrophobic and lost watching Ian ape one of his heros but with the former I felt Zack (CRAZY's lead) had successfully transcended his dull life and landed firmly in the otherworldly reaches of glam rock. Nothing to do with the actors (who both did great jobs) but just different approaches in capturing the sequence to film. The transition to moving images is more difficult than you think Anton, Jean Marc Vallee for my money, beats you on this one.

My favourite character was the band manager. Funny how in most rock movies the manager is the one we remember most. There were two great ones in Almost Famous, played by Noah Taylor and Jimmy Fallon.

I can't talk about this movie without mentioning 24 hour party people which treads a lot of the same ground as this but does it with more diversity and lust for life than this study of angsty Mancunians. Factory Records head Tony Wilson was portrayed with equal skill by both actors and Sam Riley, doesn't play Ian Curtis but The Fall's Mark E Smith. 24HPP was shot with sickly looking minidv cams and Control was brought to the screen with magnificent B&W. It didn't matter much and the black and white kinda got on Mona and my nerves after a while. I think Ian's story just fit better in a movie about a "scene" rather than one just about him.

For someone who has shown us so much in a still image, you'd think Anton Corbin would have been able to pull off the shift in tone with ease. Unfortunately he probably needs another film or two get it right. So, if you're a huge fan of Joy Division go see it but if you are a cinephile wait for it on video.

VIFF is underway

The Vancouver Film Fest started on Thursday but today is the first day Mona and I are going to see films. Our first film is going to be Control, the Joy Division movie. I am really looking forward to this one. I haven't heard many bad things about it so I am sure it will impress.

Then tomorrow we are going to see three films. I'll post my thoughts afterwards.

There will be Blood

People are saying this is PT Andersons greatest film and possibly Daniel Day Lewis' greatest performance.

I am so there.

Trailer for About a Son

Check out the trailer for this amazing looking film.

We are done

Mona and I have just finished our first cut of Let Me be Fictional: A Documentary about the band Ladyhawk. There were a few stressful days but nothing compared to other projects I've worked on. We had a tougher time putting together the Wedding video last year. I think the reason is we love the footage so much and find these guys in Ladyhawk to be captivating and fascinating.

So, now it's on to a test screening with some people and then the sound mix. Our Dec 7th deadline for SXSW is totally doable.

I can't believe Mona and I have finished our first feature film. It feels amazing.

Staring at the Sun

Sunshine is the kind of science fiction movie we all want to like but a lot of us cannot. Every year we hope for that great movie that will take the place of Alien or 2001. With all the great cgi out there you would think we could do it.

The thing I like about this movie is it doesn't even try to compete with the other flashy visuals of late. The set design, acting, pacing and overall feel of this movie are first rate.

Why don't a lot of my friends embrace this movie? I think it's because they thought it was going to tell them different things about the darker side of humanity. The fact that it didn't tap into these recesses of our subconscious is not grounds for dismissal.

It was essentially a well put together thriller made by a group of people with higher than average IQs. In the end we are left with a positive if not metaphysical wrap up. Sure, there are some directorial choices I would have steered clear of but all in all I was thoroughly entertained.

All I can give you is my emotional response to the movie. I left that theatre satisfied and excited; I didn't feel cheap or in want of more. It gave me more than all the summer blockbusters I have seen in this season. Now let's just see if The Bourne Ultimatum fairs as well.

Friday Night Lights: The irresistible gravity of sun flares and pensive stares

Coach Taylor

Tami Taylor

Julie Taylor

Jason Street

Buddy Garrity

Lyla Garrity

Landry Clarke

Tim Riggins

Matt Saracen

Tyra Collette

Smash Williams

I love these characters and so will you after only a few episodes of this exemplary series.

I Hate Football (or at least I'm mildly disinterested in it)


It all stems from the time I spent in Lethbridge, Alberta. I was in Grade 8 and for whatever reason I decided to try out for the football team. I could have become a stoner like my friends but I thought that team sports was the high road.

I think it was the appeal of walking down the hall wearing a team jacket and having people like you, without ever knowing anything about you. Even though I didn’t feel much affinity for these small town types I still wanted them to like me. Fucked up but hey? The need to belong is strong no matter what bastard-child-of-a-subgroup you belong to.

At the time I was 13 yrs old, 6 feet tall and around 140 pounds. Not the best profile for such a rough sport. So, me and a couple of my other weakling friends tried out. They too, shared my survival strategy.

I made the final cuts, just barely. I was on the special team. I think I was a safety. I got all of 5 minutes playing time.

The only bright moment in this soul-crushing endeavor was when the coach looked back at our practice tape, showing me barely getting out of a dog pile with my life and said: “Leickner’s got a lotta jam.” This moment of victory was short lived as one particularly beefy redhead took it as his main goal to drive that jam out of me during each and every subsequent practice.

It should be mentioned that this redhead was fond of sadistic locker room games. One of his favorite tricks was to grab the punier kids by the neck and squeeze until they passed out. These kids figured it was some kind of initiation rite so they willingly allowed it to happen. This asphyxiation ritual was both bizarre and terribly frightening to my teen eyes but I managed to avoid it. I don’t know how.

Before I started football I wasn’t afraid of anyone but after one season I was afraid of everyone. I now knew what pain was; whereas before it was an abstract concept. If I stayed in Lethbridge (and not moved to Edmonton, where they didn’t have a junior high league) I might have gone on to play the next season and on through to high school. This would surely have turned me into a narrow-minded jock and most likely someone my current self would hate to be around. So what did I get out of that six months? Several welts on my forearms and a lot of self esteem issues.

And why am I addicted to the TV series, Friday Night Lights?

Every other sports drama perpetuates the notion that there are special people in the world that deserve public adoration and that people need to be inspired through exclusion.

But FNL is critical of those accepted views and questions things like: what’s important in life and what happens if you don’t fit into the world around you. No one is purely good or evil everyone has their moments when they feel the pull of the dark or light side. FNL is all about hard choices and no right answers. This is a smart-as-fuck show and it pushes the gray areas to the fore.

FNL is also filmed with the eye of an artist, which would totally be lost on a lesser sports series. All the camera is handheld, through long lenses and very immediate in it’s feel. The town’s folk that aren’t into this sport-as-religion get ample time to voice their opinions. This is a football film for people who hate the smell of pigskin or the feel of a jockstrap.

I also love the movie this drama series is based on but this series goes so much deeper into the sick psyche of middle America. It presents alternatives for people who are trapped in this suffocating world. After finishing the first season I can't wait for the next one to start up. I have grown very fond of the characters and want to know more about their lives. So many things have changed since the first episode that you want to see what more could possible change in the upcoming shows.

This show has received terrible ratings this last year but they are bringing it back for another year because the critics and the network know how important it is; sometimes there is justice in the world. The 13 year old in me that winces every time someone on the show is tackled is very grateful for this show that director Peter Berg has created.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien

I am so gonna see this at VIFF. You can't stop me. I know you'll try.

Gettting ready for VIFF

The 2007 edition of the Vancouver Film Festival is almost upon us. The movies I am excited about include the Latest from established Auteurs and the two Asian Countries (South Korea and Taiwan) I consistently go back to for celluloid pleasure.

Once again they overlooked a few of the big ones on my list: Hannah Takes the Stairs, Billy the Kid, Silver Jew...plus a few others that I can't remember right now.

More on this as it happens

Sigur Ros Doc

Paul Bae brought this to my attention.

http://emichrysalis.co.uk/sigurros/heima/film/heima_trailer.html

Love the visuals. This is going to be great

Songs to make you feel new again

Dean and Britta
Back Numbers

With the recent deaths of Antonioni and Lee Hazelwood there couldn’t be better timing for this collection of sweet tracks. This album stands as a great eulogy for that great lost era in the 60’s. Interior Realism and Nancy Sinatra are still the order of the day on this second CD of theirs but it actually improves on that disc and gives us Luna (their former band) fans something to live for.

The song "you turn my head around" has Britta belting out the gorgeous tones like never before. Of course on every track, Dean is (as always), the epitome of New York cool.


The New Pornographers
Challengers

Fitting, that the people who like the older New Pornographers albums really don’t like this one. The relentless power pop tempo and lack of breathing room of their earlier CDs just weren’t for me but the kids just ate that shit up. I like their change; it’s more what I’m into. They’ve found dynamics and introspection and if that’s not progress well then shoot me now.

Dan Bejar hath laid down three exemplary songs on this one, with my favorite being Myriad Harbour (which I’ve mentioned in an earlier post). The other songs are fantastic as well. Almost all of them have great vocal melodies and wonderful lyrics.

What do I find are the key differences that set this apart from their previous efforts? I will be listening to this album when I’m writing, reading, running and doing the dishes not just when I’ve had a few drinks at the bar. This is absolutely a great time for this CD to be released for as we mourn the final days of summer we have this album make the transition to fall a little more bearable.

Dylan Biopic

Saw the trailer for the new Bob Dylan Biopic on A.J. Schnack's blog. Here it is for you. I don't know about you but I am truly excited about Todd Haynes approach to the material.

Hannah takes the Stairs

It's coming to theatres, here is the official trailer...


This is great news, as I didn't get to go to SXSW this year. Hopefully with the Ladyhawk Doc, we'll be going next year.

Yeah, I'm on it

Now I am officially on Facebook. I've managed to re-connect with loads of my old friends from High School through this virtual community, so for that, I'm pretty pleased. All those folks with asymmetrical hair styles and unsavory fascinations with Frankie Goes to Hollywood have mellowed a little but I'm sure if you get a few drinks in em' their inner sixteen year old will become re-animated. Yes, it's addictive but as far as vices go it's pretty inert. I will have to reveal my real name if you want to poke me or be my friend.

Look up Rob Leickner and have yourself a good chuckle. I

will post some of the shorts Mona and I have done, in the near future.

Up to Our Hips

I just re-discovered this mid-career Charlatans album. Some Friendly is the album that most people gravitate towards but this one is still pretty great. It sounds live off the floor, stripped of the studio trickery that graced their first two albums... and dammit...it holds up quite well when compared to all the current Brit acts (read: not a trace of Joy Division or Talking Heads just lots of funky bass lines and sweet Rhodes piano). The whole album is a peppy affair that's informed by soul classics of the 60s and 70's. This was a point in their career when they were just coming out of the drug drenched Mad-chester ghetto. While the public was starting to lose interest in them, they came out with a timeless album rather than a footnote to a era that was dying.

Standout tracks are "Feel Flows", and instrumental that wouldn't be out of place on a Mogwai album (sans that funky Clav), "I never want an easy life" and "Can't get out of Bed". When I get around to writing my film based on my travels in Korea circa 94-95 a few of these tracks will grace the soundtrack.

back home

Spent the weekend in the Okanagan (Kelowna and Summerland) with the family. Ate, drank and trampolined too much. Had a great gourmet lunch at the Sumac Ridge winery. Next time we are going to go Oliver, which is the wine capital of Canada, it's home to more than a dozen vineyards.

Kelowna wasn't as hot as it usually is in August (only in the high 20s not high 30s) and at night the temperature dropped considerable so you could actually sleep.

It was great to see the parents, my sister and my niece and nephew. Mona and I showed them a taste of all the video projects we were working on. Now we just have to get back to the Ladyhawk doc and finish that f**ker.

We hope to get back there before next summer.

The Adventure ends: Michelangelo Antonioni, 1912 - 2007

It's a shitty week for lovers of art house films. The great Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni died today. He directed L'Avventura, which like it or not, changed the way people make films. He was 97 though so we knew it was coming soon.

Hopefully Woody Allen and Jean Luc Godard can make it to the end of the week.

Ingmar Bergman 1918-2007

I knew it was gonna happen soon but it still hits me pretty hard. This man is largly responsible for my post 2000 film making resurgence. His dramatic films are suffused with the stuff that all great directors strive for: internal realism. So many directors have tried to emulate his approach to moviemaking. The most successful is Woody Allen. Bergman's followers are legion but their names escape me at this time. Go out and watch Scenes from a Marriage, Wild Strawberries, Persona, Saraband...where to start. If you aren't familiar with him go out and do so.

More on Bergman at the face to face site.