Metrograph Presents: Made in Hong Kong
Ten minutes through Fruit Chan’s Made in Hong Kong, and I’m hit with the impulse to say the film is 60% frame, 40% story. It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen a film so committed to its aesthetic, a film with words and shots and music married so seamlessly I’m aching to believe that the entire thing is a recording, and that Hong Kong is truly a place where grunge meets grain, and twanging strings accompany your every move.
But this version of Hong Kong is solely my own. In another ten minutes, it becomes clear that the Hong Kong Fruit Chan knows is much darker, more obscure. His protagonist, an arrogant, heroic delinquent named Autumn Moon, declares early on that “freedom comes first,”—a philosophy that seems easy in this lush, sunny world—but then spends the entire film fighting for it. Autumn wants the freedom to have sex—but the girl he loves is sick, in dire need of a kidney. Autumn wants the freedom that comes with power—but he’s poor, and hindered by a lack of education. Even at night, when most have the freedom to dream, Autumn is haunted by the bloody, unsent letters of a dead girl. He can hardly make a choice without an opposing force shutting it down, but, as the film goes on, it seems that this is the case for everyone living in Hong Kong. The city is plagued by triads, loan sharks, a convoluted health system—everything is off, soiled, even, and Chan communicates that with dirty underwear, milk-white blood, and a vicious, vengeful maiming. More than anything, it seems as if Hong Kong is broken.
In 1997, when Made in Hong Kong was released, the city was reeling with the aftermath of the Handover, which returned administrative control of Hong Kong from the British to the Mainland Chinese. Today, Hong Kong is embroiled in a series of anti-China protests labelled the Umbrella Movement. It is only fitting, then, that a film that so yearns for freedom is making a comeback. At its heart, Made in Hong Kong is a film that inspires rebellion—a film that decries subjugation. Autumn Moon never quite manages to gain the freedom he so craves. Will Hong Kong?
Made in Hong Kong will see its first U.S Release this Friday, March 6th, at Metrograph NYC.
The Brooklyn Film Festival - Are You Glad I'm Here
Wednesday, May 30th. I meet with director Noor Fay at Amber, a sushi restaurant on West 70th street, to discuss her first feature film: Are You Glad I’m Here, recent winner of Best Original Score and Best Feature Narrative at the Brooklyn Film Festival. Having watched the film myself the night before, I’m excited for the chance to pick her brain: where did the idea for the film come from? What was the production process like? Noor answers my questions with ease. She tells me of her Lebanese heritage, and her screenwriter, Sam Anderson’s, studies in Arabic. We discuss the difficulties of filming on a low budget, of finding the perfect cast, and the skill required to bring the soft, specific beauty of the Lebanese countryside to the screen. I tell Noor that I expected the movie to end with her two female leads intertwined in a sexual relationship, and she laughs.
“Yeah, I guess I can see why you’d think that.”
Are You Glad I’m Here is in no way a sexual movie -- it’s refreshing, I realize, to have a drama about a female friendship where there’s no sexual undertone. There is, however, plenty of violence -- at first easy to ignore, like static background music, but then sharp and spiked -- gasps of forte after an entire composition in piano.
The movie opens on Kirsten (Tess Harrison), a young American teaching abroad in Lebanon. She’s at once identifiable as that liberal arts educated expat -- someone with a sense of higher morality who has adopted their own standards of right and wrong: stealing is acceptable, but domestic abuse? Not at all. Her character in is direct contrast to Nadine, played by Marwa Khalil. Unlike Kirsten, Nadine lives by the standards set by her society. She despises her husband, his wandering eye and his violent outbursts, but her fear of shame is greater than her desire for freedom.
Nevertheless, the two women find themselves slipping into an easy friendship. There are several scenes dedicated to the pair laughing, bonding over shared senses of humor and shared bottles of wine, seemingly ignoring the deeper troubles that plague them. This all comes to a head, however, when Nadine, in an act of self defense, strikes and kills her husband in front of a shell-shocked Kirsten.
From then on, there is a drastic shift in the tone and styling of the movie -- so much so that the second half of the film reads like a sequel to the first. Kirsten is on the verge of irrelevance -- the focus is instead on Nadine, dealing with the physical aftermath of her actions, hiding her secret from her family, and navigating how to break the death of her husband to her son.
But the lack of Kirsten is made up for with Nadine’s family. Their dynamic with her is full and beautiful -- the words Nadine exchanges with her brother are near poetic, benefiting from the pleasing sound of Arabic. It’s a relief when they are not revealed to be the tyrants we fear -- we are reassured that Nadine is now in good hands, capable of facing the future with them by her side.
It’s true that Are You Glad I’m Here has flaws -- ones that can’t be compensated for with stylish cinematography or interesting shots. Nonetheless, its ability to blend two cultures and languages into a cohesive, compelling movie, not to mention the clear passion and hard work behind it, makes the film worth a watch. But feel free to decide for yourself: check out the trailer below, or visit the film’s instagram page: @areyougladimhere.
FoST Festival 2017
During the first weekend of October, The Future of StoryTelling (FoST) Festival gave New Yorkers the chance to engage with some of most cutting-edge trends in storytelling technology. Situated in Snug Harbor on Staten Island, the festival was hosted by the Future of StoryTelling University, an age-old institution that teaches and promotes the art of storytelling.
The storytelling tradition has ancient roots, but the FoST festival was the definition of modern. Guests wandered through an idyllic campus of gardens and greenery and explored exhibits, participated in activities, and watched performances featuring the latest in virtual reality technologies, artificial intelligence, interactive media and more.
Among the hundreds of exhibits featured during the festival were demos like “Free the Night,” a virtual reality experience that uses the latest Acer headset to allow users to release stars into the night sky (presented by Microsoft and Jaunt), and “The Last Goodbye,” a VR experience where users are taken along to Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter’s final visit to Majdanek Concentration Camp (presented by Gabo Arora and Ari Palitz in association with USC Shoah Foundation, MPC & Here Be Dragons).
The festival highlighted how the modern age of technology is bringing people from all walks of life into contact and broadening perspectives on what life is like in other corners of the world. VR technologies give users more authentic encounters with the lives of others and foster a greater sense of understanding and empathy.
Guests at the festival were able to take in the experiences of people like Ramadevi, a survivor of child trafficking, whose story, “Notes to my Father,” is told using a mix of verbatim theater and documentary storytelling techniques in the world’s first live-capture VR experience about sex trafficking (presented by Jayisha Patel).
The technologies highlighted by the FoST festival are reshaping the way we take in pop culture, and even reshaping the culture itself. “On Stage: Major Lazer” is a virtual reality music docuseries from Hulu and Live Nation that transports users into the creative process of Major Lazer. “The Johnny Cash Project” is “a crowdsourced homage to the Man in Black”, where people from around the world draw individual frames from the “Ain’t No Grave” music video to create a cohesive work of totally unique artistic styles (presented by Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin).
Artificial intelligence technologies are being put to good use with new creations like “Project Blossom,” a robotic social companion for kids on the autism spectrum. This “smart companion” can help children learn about social engagement by exhibiting realistic empathetic responses to videos (presented by Miguel de Andres with Google and Guy Hoffman with Cornell).
The technologies exhibited at the FoST Festival were innovative, often surprising, and very promising. For both people immersed in VR and tech culture and people simply interested in checking out what the modern world has to offer, the Future of StoryTelling is an excellent resource. For more information about the festival and the FoST community, click here.
Photos courtesy of Edelman and FoST
Tribeca Film Festival 2017 After Parties
What is more exciting than attending the Hollywood mega stars filled Tribeca Film Festival? Well, grabbing drinks with the stars at the after parties of course. For every film that premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival, there comes a after party celebration. In most cases, these celebratory activities take place at the hottest spots in New York night life. Fans of movie stars would give their limbs to be at these unforgettable parties.
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Miles J. Harvey, Ben Stiller and Oren Moverman
2017 Tribeca Film Festival After Party For The Dinner Sponsored By Nespresso At White Street (Theo Wargo, Getty Images)
From bumping shoulders with A-list actors, to nibbling on appetizers alongside some of Hollywood's biggest directors. The Tribeca after party experience is a truly marvelous opportunity to feel Hollywood. The parties also provides a chance for other up-and-coming directors, actors, and screenwriters to meet and discuss future plans to work together. It really is a unique experience to see movie screen royalties interacting along their family and supporters.
Gina Gershon and Alessandro Nivola
2017 Tribeca Film Festival After-Party for One Percent More Humid, sponsored by Bulleit Bourbon at The Chester – 4/21/17 (Ilya Savenok, Getty Images
David Joseph Craig, Dan Stevens, Rebecca Hall, Morgan Spector and Jason Sudeikis
2017 Tribeca Film Festival After Party for Permission, sponsored by Heineken at Up and Down – 4/22/17 (Ilya Savenok, Getty Images)
Delicious fare from the hottest restaurants in New York, exquisite cocktails from top liquor brands, trendy spots, beautiful crowd, and hottest records being spun by DJs, there is really nothing else to make a party more grand.
Mark Cuban and Ed Helms
2017 Tribeca Film Festival After-Party for The Clapper, sponsored by EFFEN® Vodka at Avenue - 4/23/17 (Jamie McCarthy, Getty Images)
Dree Hemingway and Andie MacDowell
2017 Tribeca Film Festival After Party for Love After Love at Up and Down – 4/22/17 (Nick Hunt, Getty Images)
Attending a Tribeca Film Festival after party, whether it's inside the Hub or elsewhere, is your chance to talk cinema, casually imbibe, and joyously celebrate with the Fest's coolest talent, biggest names, and breakout talent. Its a chance to feel Hollywood in the big apple.
Emma Watson and Tom Hanks
2017 Tribeca Film Festival After Party for The Circle at American Cut Tribeca sponsored by Chloe Wine Collection, EFFEN Vodka and Heineken April 26, 2017 (Rob Kim, Getty Images)
Venues: La Sirena, The Chester, White Street, Up and Down, Fine & Rare, Avenue, American Cut Tribeca
Spirits: Bulleit Bourbon, EFFEN Vodka, Heineken, Chloe Wine Collection
Photos courtesy of ShadowPR
Shin Godzilla: Review
Shin Godzilla? More like Shin Mortal-zilla. Directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, the Japanese reboot of the beloved giant monster movie does not live up to all the hype. When one thinks of Godzilla or giant monster movies, one assumes an intimidating Godzilla and frightening destruction driven by human emotion. What we get instead is a rather underwhelming Godzilla with too many subplots from the human side of the story.
The film follows the structure of “this event is impossible, but if it happened, this is what would occur.” From the get-go, even when seemingly natural catastrophes occur, everyone tries to rationally explain what is happening, ruling out the improbable -- or rather the “impossible” -- except for Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Rando Yaguchi (played by Hiroki Hasegawa). He points out evidence of a possible giant monster, but everyone around him seems to be in denial before Godzilla actually appears and starts destroying the city. What ensues after are countless meetings between Japanese politicians, foreign officials, and military officers discussing the Godzilla crisis and how to resolve it.
Good films are driven by its characters and Shin Godzilla manages to partially capture the human aspect of the film. Tension and drama builds really well amongst characters and overall the actors perform very well. The main spotlight would definitely be on Hiroki Hasegawa’s character, Rando Yaguchi; he always has great chemistry with whichever actor he’s with in any scene showing great versatility. What came as a surprise while watching this film was the amount of humor. Through the chaotic meetings between government and military officials, Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi sneak in quirky, yet funny moments that seem to show that no matter how serious the situation, there’s always time to add in a joke.
The upside to the meetings is its humor, but they also include unwanted or unnecessary subplots that clutter the film’s plot. While I understand the purpose of Kayoko Ann Paterson (played by Satomi Ishihara), she never seems relevant or as important as she should’ve been. The key problem in this movie is Godzilla itself. Godzilla may have been destructive, but it sure wasn’t terrifying which it should be since it is a giant monster that towers over buildings. Its very first appearance is rather underwhelming because of how it looks and though I understand why it looks the way it does at the beginning and at the end of the movie, the damage it had on my impressions were too negative. Buildings got destroyed, people died, and everyone was in mass panic, but I never felt a real sense of danger or fright from Godzilla itself.
Shin Godzilla is a sci-fi monster film featuring the legendary Godzilla. Even though this film has a strong lead, surprising humor, and good acting all around, this new incarnation does not quite live up to the legend because it completely misses the mark on the Godzilla side of the film. With a personal rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, I’d wish I didn’t get invited to see Shin Godzilla.
Photos courtesy of Rogers & Cowan for Funimation Films
Operation Avalanche: Review
One small step for man, one medium leap for Director Matt Johnson in his found footage conspiracy thriller Operation Avalanche. As director, star, and producer, Johnson shows he is able to accomplish both a lot and very little at the same time. The found footage medium has seen a lot of ups and downs over the years, but Operation Avalanche can be recognized as one of the better ones. Strong performances, technical achievement and stylistic sense manage to make this film a more likable one than not.
Photo: Lionsgate Premeire
The CIA sends Ivy League recruits Matt Johnson and Owen Williams(playing themselves) on a mission to infiltrate NASA and expose a Russian mole. To do so, they use the cover of a documentary film crew that’s attempting to document the behind the scenes efforts leading up to man’s landing on the moon. In a turn of events, Matt and Owen realize the U.S. cannot actually land on the moon by the expected date and are forced to take on a new mission to fake the moon landing to “beat the Russians.”
While the premise may sound ridiculous and Argo-esque, Johnson and his team deliver something that has more comical moments than one would expect. Because the plot involves creating a fake documentary, the style feels like a mockumentary. Great acting is key in any film, but the found footage, mockumentary medium emphasizes capturing facial expression, small ticks and changes to the face that make a performance not only believable, but feel real.
During the Q&A after my screening of the film, Johnson revealed his difficulty in playing his character because of his inability to relate to him. He is, however, able to show us a passionate CIA agent with a restlessness to accomplish his mission. His determination shows not only through his character, but through his technological achievement. In one scene, Johnson and his crew visit Stanley Kubrick’s film set of 2001: A Space Odyssey to find the necessary technique to replicate the moon setting. Since this never actually happened, VFX specialist Tristan Zerafa had to animate old photographs of Kubrick on set and combine it with the footage of Johnson and company. This alone lends even more credit to this film as an ambitious one.
Matt Johnson, director and star of "Operation Avalanche," Photo: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times
Operation Avalanche is supposed to be a thriller, but sometimes doesn’t feel like one. Tension doesn’t always build the way it’s supposed to and the climax doesn’t feel as thrilling as one would hope. While the narrative is easy to follow and technical parts of the film are explained well, pacing led the film to feel longer and dragged out during certain parts. For something as large as the moon landing, the film doesn’t quite deliver on the ambitious and impactful journey it sets out to be.
The film’s likable, comical nature combined with its stylistic approaches easily outweigh its lackluster climax. Operation Avalanche may not have reached its potential, but for its small crew and budget, Johnson manages to deliver something that stuck the landing with a great, fun, crazy film to watch. With a personal rating of 4 out of 5 stars, I’d invite you to watch Operation Avalanche.
"The Intern" NY Premiere
Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures
The Intern World Premiere
The Premiere took place at Ziegfried Theater with a steep price of $1,500 (luckily I was invited) and included an invitation to the after party at Tavern on the Green. Being a world premiere, all of the heavy hitter stars of came out to show support, Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway included.
There was free popcorn and sodas for everyone, but for $1,500 they should been serving caviar.
Regis Philbin
While walking around waiting for the screening to start, I noticed someone familiar from the corner of my eye As I got closer, I realized it was Regis Philbin. I had no idea he was 84 years old; he looked really good for that age. Regis was sagacious and very kind, even offering me some of his popcorn.
The stars finally arrived, even Mariah Carey showed up with her billionaire boyfriend.
After all the stars, arrived it was finally time for the screening. This was my first movie premiere so I did not know what to expect. I sat four rows (Yes, I counted...) in front of Robert De Niro. When everyone was seated in the movie theater, someone came out and introduced all the stars. They stood up while everyone cheered on. It was a surreal moment, to be watching a movie with some of the biggest movie stars on the planet.
End of the movie
After the movie, everyone including the stars went into lobby and greeted each other for such a wonderfully done movie.
This was definitely the funniest guy in the movie. You might recognize Zack from the substitute teacher skit from Key and Peele where he played A-a-ron.
Christina Scherer
Christina played assistant to Anne Hathaway and she was just adorable. I see big things in her future, and I am wishing her the best. I actually sent her this picture on Facebook, and she responded!
My Movie Review: I thought the movie was great, charming, and lots of fun. I really did not expect anything less from Robert and Anne. The pacing and comedic bits between the two of them were well developed for a lighthearted film such as this one. The whole time I was watching the movie, I could not help but think about The Devils Wear Prada. The movie was like a sequel to TDWP with Anne being the boss this time, and Robert changing her perspective on life. Although the movie was not Oscar worthy or anything, it is a fun weekend escape.