Boll Goes "Postal" while Burns' "Violets" Wilt

The latest train wreck of a movie from bad boy Uwe Boll (shown near right) offers the same odd, can't-look-away fascination of an accident that unfurls before your eyes. With his recently-released-to-DVD POSTAL, Boll tries his hand at comedy -- and if you come back at me with the notion that all his movies are unintentional comedies, I must tell you that this one is intentional and consequently not as funny as other of his work. There are very few genuine laughs scattered along the way, though his cast is certainly game: Zack Ward to Dave Foley, Verne Troyer to J.K. Simmons (this is not as starry as the group he assembled for "In the Name of the King," however).

Since all of us learn on-the-job, this must be true for film directors, too. Boll "completists" will no doubt be more aware of the film knowledge this director has gained over the 17 years since he made his debut (German Fried Movie, which bears a one-star rating [out of 10] on the IMDB; with Postal, Boll has achieved nearly four out of ten on the same rating scale). When I returned this film to my local Blockbuster, the clerk asked if I'd liked it. When I mentioned the director's name, "Ohmigod!" he exclaimed, "that guy made the worst movie I have ever seen in my life: Alone in the Dark." The reason Boll makes movies, the clerk informed me, is because he receives tax breaks. (And here I thought he was doing it for his art.) Boll is prolific, if nothing else: Two more of his movies are in post-production -- Stoic and Far Cry -- with two more in actual production -- Zombie Massacre and Sabotage 1943. Wow: Boll tackles horror and history in the same year. I can't wait.


When Ed Burns (shown above, far right) made his writing/directing/acting/producing debut in 1995 with "The Brothers McMullen," the out-of-scale praise the movie received seems to have paved the way for Burns to simply continue doing the same thing over and over (and perhaps leading the way toward our current spate of Apatow-driven movies about slacker-sloucher boy-men). Burns' acting talent has improved (as have his budgets, or at least how he puts the money to use) even if his writing and directing have remained all-too generic. His latest endeavor, which has gone straight to DVD, is something called PURPLE VIOLETS (a meaningless title until you reach the film's end -- at which point it simply looks lazy).

Again, this is a story about New York men and women and how they manage relationships. Burns has assembled a bright, talented cast (this may be his best ever: Selma Blair, Patrick Wilson, Debra Messing, Elizabeth Reaser, Donal Logue, Dennis Farina and Burns himself) and then given them so-so dialog and situations, which they handle with as much flair as can be mustered. (Messing is particularly adept at projecting hurt, anger and wry humor as the facade of a woman who can no longer trust.) Burns does seems to have gotten smarter about women over the course of his filmmaking, and there's less glorification of the male as "cad." But this film, as does his others, spends its time either going nowhere or into conclusions that are utterly expected. I've now seen all of Burns' work except The Groomsmen, which I've heard is one of his better endeavors. We live in hope, so we'll add this one to our online queue.

(RELATIVELY) NEW DVDs OF NOTE: Rambow fils and finding Osama

I'm of the mind that all religions are loony -- some more so than others -- so it was very easy for me to identify with the young protagonist in SON OF RAMBOW, whose remaining family (dad's dead) is held in thrall to a bunch of whack-job fanatics. Further, as a kid who loved movies from the first time he saw one, it was also easy to like this sweet little film about how cinema -- along with school, family and friends -- shapes our lives. Writer/director Garth Jennings, who also gave us the underappreciated film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy now has another fine flop to his credit. I'll be surprised if both these movies don't eventually rise to a higher place in the film canon. For now, just enjoy what Jennings does -- both delicious and dear -- with a French exchange student's effect on a British school and vice versa.

It's easy, I suppose, to make fun of Morgan Spurlock for his faux gee-whiz enthusiasm, which is on parade once again via his new documentary WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN? And yet Mr. Spurlock does his shtick so well -- with energy, charm and humor -- that you'll find it hard to resist his light-hearted (and occasionally light-headed) search for everyone's favorite terrorist. At the very least, I should think that most middle class (if there are any of you left) Gen X-ers who are new (or about to be) parents will identify with Spurlock and his wife and their desire to see their baby born into a "safer" world. His travels into all those middle-eastern places in which parents and their children are not safe may seem shallow and silly on one hand, but the viewer cannot help but be aware (and I believe Spurlock is intent on making them aware) of the enormous differences between growing up in the USA and in any of the Arab states, and even Israel. This one's worth a look, some chuckles and an occasional wince.

Traveling Man

I'd like to commend to you an unusual little movie -- one that's gone straight to DVD after winning a few awards on the "smaller festival" circuit. It's not great, but it's sweet, slight -- yet different in one particular way from almost anything else in its genre -- and it manages to achieve most of its goals. If you are one of those who feels, as I do, that travel is indeed broadening and wonderful, even with its occasional "Where's my wallet?" moments, THE ART OF TRAVEL should give you pleasure.

The film begins as a seemingly typical romantic comedy, and its first section does deliver a payoff about as good as this genre gets (see Paul Lazarus' Seven Girlfriends for my choice as one of the best of romantic comedies). Then the movie morphs into the travel/adventure/laughs mode and moves from Central to South America, while introducing a fairly interesting set of characters. This section is the film's weakest -- not bad, mind you, but a little derivative and obvious. Yet, just as does the movie's main character, played quite well by Christopher Masterson (shown above), we need this connecting tissue in order to arrive at the much stronger, surprisingly intelligent and adult finale.

The film was evidently shot in all the locales that its story covers, which should makes it especially appealing to travel buffs (the award-winning cinematography by Lawson Deming offers some gorgeous vistas). The cast is made up of attractive and talented actors, including James Duval, Johnny Messner, Brooke Burns, Maria Conchita Alonso and newcomer Angelika Baran -- who, by film's end, will capture your heart. Director and writer (with Brian LaBelle) Thomas Whelan has given us a narrative that is also a kind of treatise on travel. In its sly way, his movie does as much for the idea -- and, yes, the "art" -- of travel as any documentary I've seen.

Amateur Night or Artistic Purity?

Over the decades, I'd heard the name Jack Smith (1932-1989), usually followed by the title of his most famous film, "Flaming Creatures," a number of times, without knowing much more than these two tidbits. So it's good to have Mary Jordan's interesting documentary about this underground artist from the 60s (he pre-dated Warhol in fame, perhaps talent, but certainly not marketing ability). JACK SMITH AND THE DESTRUCTION OF ATLANTIS fills us in, via interviews with a wealth of folk from that time period and now -- theatre and film people, artists, friends and Smith's sister -- whose remembrances go a long way towards filling in the blanks of the man's life and work.

Along the way, we also find much to mull over. Was Jonas Mekas really the greedy sleaze described here by some of the interviewees? Did John Waters get the inspiration for his pencil mustache from Jack Smith's early years? (Certainly Smith's visual sense appears to have inspired this unruly filmmaker.) Was Fellini, too, stirred by Smith's images (it sure looks that way)? Did Warhol literally steal much of Smith's sensibility and then graft it -- in black-and-white, rather than color -- onto his own film work? In addition to raising these questions and more, the film introduces viewers to ex-indie queen Mary Woronow and shows her as young as I can remember, attending one of Smith's famous midnight East Village events. We listen as playwright Ronald Tavel talks sweetly about his friend, and we even see Ken Jacobs looking much more relaxed and happy here than he does in his son Azazel's current indie hit Momma's Man.

What to make of Smith's actual oeuvre? Does he represent amateur night or artistic purity? Both, it would seem -- at least from what we gather here. Waters notes that Smith "bit every hand that could ever, ever feed him," the consequence of which is that very few people know his art. Because Flaming Creatures became a cause célèbre for censorship and was banned in various states, fellow artist Uzi Parnes says Smith determined that if he never again created a finished object, his work would be less likely to banned or captured. The artist even went so far as to literally edit his film Normal Love during its own screening! (This can't have been much fun for the audience to sit through, though it probably was something of a "first.")

In all, the movie offers a generous testament to a man who found it difficult to compromise with anything: life, art, society, his friends, and especially his own mother. Bizarre, fascinating, sad -- and yes, quite, quite gay -- Smith's story deserves telling, and if Ms Jordan hasn't given us all, she's given us more than we've had before. For anyone interested in underground American art, the movie's a must, and the DVD features 13 additional bonus bits, comprising information that was probably too much to add to the film's already 90-minute running time.

Films -- and a film distributor -- worth knowing

If you're film-lover who appre-ciates the humane, take a look at two movies from Italian writer/director Giuseppe Piccioni: Not of This World and Light of My Eyes. The former came out in 1999 (and is available on DVD via Facet's Accent Cinema) but still seems quite current in its subject and themes: a nun finds an abandoned baby and the whole of present-day urban Italy opens up before the viewer. Light of My Eyes, shown at the FSLC's Open Roads festival a few years back was distributed by Film Movement, one of the most consistent sources of intelligent movies from around the world that I have found.

Piccioni is a filmmaker for whom the social contract, never mentioned but implicit in all he shows us, is vital. It may work in very odd ways (we're in Italy, after all), yet it does work. And this is what matters. Both these films are available -- as online rentals -- from Netflix, GreenCine and Blockbuster. (If you're wondering which firm does the best job, by the way, I'll have a comparison ready to post fairly soon. I've belonged to all three for some time and so consider myself a pretty fair judge.)

Rather than recreate reviews of both movies, I've simply linked to what I've posted earlier (under the moniker of talltale) on GreenCine here and here. Regarding Film Movement, here's a link to an "appreciation" written for GreenCine a couple of years back, along with a listing of short reviews of the FM films I'd seen at that point. Since then, I've watched a number of others, and I still feel the same: there's not a movie in the bunch I'm sorry to have seen. Obviously some Film Movement features are better than others, but the overall level of quality -- from a single distribution source -- is unmatched in my experience. Some recent FM titles not covered earlier that are especially good: Days and Clouds, The Grocer's Son, Choking Man, XXY, The Violin, Her Name Is Sabine and Adam's Apples. (And these titles are just from the past year).

Film Movement is not the only distribution company doing excellent work, but it's one of the best. I'll hope to cover other firms in the weeks to come, including a couple of new ones on the scene. Stay tuned.

About TRUST MOVIES -- and the guy who's asking you to trust 'em

................photo immediately above by Joel WeberBTI@nyc.rr.com

From their beginning, movies have shown us ourselves and the world -- as we are, were and might be -- in ways simple and increasingly complex and effects-ridden. So why not trust movies? They're certainly as reliable as your government, boss, spouse, friends -- and that fellow or gal you face each morning in your mirror. We're all fallible hypocrites.

Not that you should trust all movies, certainly. Nor even all of a single movie. Perfection is out of reach, but human beings do keep trying, particularly moviemakers. Documentarians, bless 'em, aim for truth, but seasoned moviegoers understand that, no matter how many "facts" one is able to marshal, truth remains just out of reach. Narrative filmmakers take a different route toward the same goal and sometimes, in their way, come rather close.

TrustMovies wants to put you in touch with films from around the world that are worth a watch, along with some that aren't. I'll be your guide. "I" being James van Maanen, who, for the past several years, has been reviewing DVD's, festivals, current theatrically-released movies and interviewing actors and directors -- all at the very comprehensive movie site GreenCine

Because I am starting the TrustMovies blog at "day one," if you wish to see any of my previous writing you'll have to go to GreenCine's Guru Reviews, its Daily Blog, or (under my moniker of "talltale") at various individual GC movie sites. I can also be found on Netflix member reviews under the name of talltale

To my recent surprise, many of my Greencine postings have been gathered at the Wikio site.

I'm a gay man, and if this sends you running for the hills, so be it. I think it's best to place information such as this on the table in plain view. At the very least, it will explain why I choose to cover certain films and fests and will perhaps will prevent you from wasting time wondering if I might be, you know, that way. Gay is nowhere near the extent of my identity, however, nor does it begin to cover the range of my film interest.

Enough gossip fodder.

Now, about me and film....

I've been going to movies since I was two years old, maybe even earlier. I began learning to read from movie marquees, and when I was 2-1/2, I announced to my parents that I was toddling off to a "picture show." They imagined I was joking and waved goodbye. Hah! I then walked to the corner where I took a bus to downtown Pasadena and saw... what? I've never been able to remember which Disney it was, but I'm sure it was one of Walt's works. (Yes, I was always very tall for my age, and this allowed me to board buses and get away with other fun things.) Eventually that day I ended up in a police station eating an ice cream cone. Rockwell Americana come to life.

My mom died later that same year and my dad immediately joined the army -- this was during WWII -- to assuage his grief or guilt or both. I was then shuffled from relative to relative for several unhappy years, during which movies helped keep me going. I've always been grateful, so maybe this blog is a "thank you."

I'll be writing more for movie-goers than for other critics, since I hope to reach those who love films and want to see as many as possible but need a little help separating the wheat from the chaff. I do realize that I constitute just one more opinion (out of thousands). But since I enjoy nearly all kind of films -- mainstream to foreign language, independent to documentary, classic to current -- and can express myself relatively well, I believe I make a pretty fair guide.

My standards? They're lower -- well, different -- from those of other critics. I enjoy many more films than I dislike -- or at least I enjoy parts of those films: a concept here, an idea there, performances, and so forth. I believe that style is important but content more so.

Genre, theme, acting, direction, writing: I'll try to cover 'em all. But not plot. You don't need to be told the plot. What you really crave is the surprise that comes from seeing each film fresh and first-hand. Critics/reviewers seem to have forgotten (audiences, too, I sometimes fear) that surprise is a prime ingredient for making narrative art (even documentaries) interesting. Surprise also helps keep viewers on their toes. Too many critics ruin too many movies by giving away too much information. If you can't discuss the film properly without spoiling it, find another job. Or at least learn to use the phrase "spoiler ahead."

Generally, I will keep my reviews brief. I tend to watch two films per day -- of late, more on DVD than in theatres -- and will hope to post notices of these, while occasionally tackling a longer article that weaves together films, their country of origin, and the themes they might have in common. I'll also give you tips on lesser-known films you might especially enjoy. But don't expect me to bother with "blockbusters." They've been done to death already and need nobody's help to make money and further erode our brains and hearts.

All of the above will be concurrent, however, with my handling a PR business in the home furnishings industry. So I must promise this with perhaps more hope than reality. We shall see....

Addendum to the above: It is now three years later, and I have completely retired my PR career to spend my full time covering movies. No money being made, and so when my savings run out, so will I. But till then, I am in heaven.  Imagine being invited to free screenings and being sent free screeners, then writing about what you see to keep your mind as fit as possible.  I feel as though I have finally died and gone to heaven. Which turns out to simply be: more movies than I will ever be able to watch and cover.

According to Google Analytics, which tracks information such as this, my blog began with three hits on day one and has progressed to as high as 600 hits per day  (300-400 is more likely) and around 15,000 pages views per month -- from all over the world,  So thank you all for coming along with me. I will keep this up as long as I can.