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Tribeca Review: Departures

PopSugar — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:30:03 -0700

Thanks to PopSugar, who is attending some Tribeca Film Festival screenings and writing reviews for me this week!

Departures won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar this year, and when I caught it last Friday at the Tribeca Film Festival, I quickly saw why it deserved the honor. The Japanese film centers around a man named Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki), a cellist who moves back to his rural hometown with his wife Mika (Ryoko Hirosue) after his orchestra in Tokyo is forced to shut down.

When he returns home, Kobayashi gives up his life of being a musician and responds to a want ad looking for someone to work "with departures." Instead of it being a travel agency like he expected, the ad turns out to be a misprint; in fact, the job is working with "the departed." Undertakers hire the company to prepare dead bodies for casketing and then cremation. Although it sounds morbid, the movie has very humorous moments as Kobayashi learns the ins and outs of the trade, but where it is funny it's also sad.

Kobayashi is ashamed of his new job and goes to great efforts to lie about what he is doing to his unsuspecting and loving wife. Kobayashi's boss, Ikuei Sasaki (Tsutomu Yamazaki), is a man of few words, but when he does speak, his meaningful moments are peppered with an unexpected dry humor. Ikuei also provides emotional, respectful, and touching moments as he performs an encoffinment with the family of the deceased looking on. For more of my thoughts on Departures, just read more.

The movie's "departures" aren't restricted to Kobayashi's career - during the film, he wonders if his current situation is punishment for not taking care of his own dying mother years earlier. His father left his family when he was 6, and as viewers, we watch him learn from his new father figure - his boss. As the ritual of encoffinment becomes more familiar, it's hard not to feel the families' stages of grief as they say goodbye to their loved ones. The acting is superb, and the musical score only enhances the many emotions one feels when watching this powerful movie. The end feels a little drawn out, but all in all, director Yojiro Takita has put together a wonderful portrayal of how the living deal with death and love.

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2009 Tribeca Film Festival Spotlight: Kate Hudson's Cutlass

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:15:00 -0700

I've been perusing the long list of interesting-looking movies scheduled for this year's Tribeca Film Festival, which continues in New York this week. It will be a while till many of the buzzworthy feature films hit theaters, so I'm excited that some of the festival's short films are online for anyone to view. One of those I was particularly curious to see is Cutlass.

The 16-minute film marks Kate Hudson's directorial debut, and she also wrote the screenplay. Compared to most shorts (at least the ones without celebrity directors), this movie has a pretty amazing cast, including Kristen Stewart, Kurt Russell, Virginia Madsen, Dakota Fanning, and Chevy Chase. The quick summary of the story: A mom (Madsen) can relate to her daughter (Fanning) about wanting to buy something really, really badly. The cinematography looks gorgeous, as does Stewart, who plays a younger version of Madsen's character and is kind of a knockout as a blonde.

You can watch the entire movie right here, so to check it out and let me know what you think about Hudson's filmmaking skills, just read more.

Supernatural Drama Could Be Tribeca's First Big Sale in Years

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:30:48 -0700

For all its buzzworthy movies, the Tribeca Film Festival hasn't yielded a major movie sale since 2005's Transamerica starring Felicity Huffman. Apparently the New York-based festival just doesn't do as many big deals as some other festivals, so when there is buzz about a sale, people pay attention. That's what's happening right now with a movie called The Eclipse.

The film is said to have three studios currently competing to buy it (Lionsgate, Magnolia and Roadside). The movie, set in an Irish town, centers on a widowed man named Michael (Ciarán Hinds, Munich) who believes he is seeing ghosts. When he volunteers at his town's annual literary festival, he becomes smitten with a horror fiction writer named Lena (Iben Hjejle, High Fidelity) but "finds himself competing for her attentions with internationally acclaimed author Nicholas (Aidan Quinn), also in town to plug his latest best seller and reclaim the girl he can't get out of his head."

New York called this movie by Irish playwright Conor McPherson a "startlingly moving drama" where the personal stories are "intriguingly interrupted by the supernatural."

I love both Hinds and Quinn and can't wait to get a peek at this movie. There's no trailer up yet - bet that'll change if this deal gets done - but I've got a few photos stills from the movie that you can check out if you read more.

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2009 Tribeca Film Festival Spotlight: Serious Moonlight

BuzzSugar — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:30:35 -0700

I've been perusing the long list of interesting-looking movies scheduled for this year's Tribeca Film Festival, which starts this week. Some of them, like Serious Moonlight, are starting to earn some buzz, and I'm anxious to find out what festivalgoers think once they've screened.

This movie looks interesting but no matter what happens, I'll always have bittersweet associations with it. Serious Moonlight will mark Cheryl Hines's directorial debut, and she worked with a screenplay written by the late Adrienne Shelly who was tragically murdered just before her movie Waitress opened in theaters. So while I'm obviously looking forward to more material from the wonderful Shelly, it's also another reminder of her untimely death.

But back to why this movie looks so good. First, the cast: Kristen Bell, Meg Ryan, Justin Long, and Timothy Hutton? Yes, please! Then there's the movie's description:

After she arrives at her country home for a romantic weekend getaway, things don't go exactly as planned for high-powered Manhattan lawyer Louise (Meg Ryan): Her husband of 13 years, Ian (Timothy Hutton), tells her he's leaving her for a younger woman (Kristen Bell). Soon Ian finds himself held captive by an oddly cool Louise, who explains that she won't release him until he commits to working on their marriage.

I love the idea of a movie about a woman kidnapping her cheating husband. What say you? Interested in learning more about this one?

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2009 Tribeca Film Festival Spotlight: The Good Guy

BuzzSugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:30:46 -0700

I've been perusing the long list of interesting-looking movies scheduled for this year's Tribeca Film Festival, which starts this week. Some of them, like The Good Guy, are just starting to pick up buzz, and I'm anxious to find out what festivalgoers think once they've screened.

Gilmore Girl Alexis Bledel finds herself in a love triangle of sorts in a film by director Julio DePietro. The movie centers on a young Wall Street hotshot named Tommy Fielding (Scott Porter). The movie's description is intriguing:

[Tommy's] a rising star at his financial firm, and his budding romance with Beth (Alexis Bledel) could be the one. Then Tommy decides to take the new guy, Daniel (Bryan Greenberg), under his wing. Daniel - a quiet, stay-at-home, Banana Republic-wearing sort of guy - isn't exactly what you would call "Wall Street material," but Tommy sets out to teach him the ways of money and seduction. But as they each continue along their upward trajectories, their high-flying business lives complicate their personal lives, and money can't always fix everything.

Sounds timely and thought-provoking. Oh, Andrew McCarthy and Anna Chlumsky (My Girl!) appear in this as well. The movie will premiere at Tribeca on April 26 and I can't wait to hear what people have to say about it.

No trailer yet, but you can check out some photos from the movie if you read more.

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2009 Tribeca Film Festival Spotlight: Stay Cool

BuzzSugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:30:54 -0700

I've been perusing the long list of interesting-looking movies scheduled for this year's Tribeca Film Festival, which starts this week. Some of them, like Stay Cool, are already earning some buzz, and I'm anxious to find out what festivalgoers think once they've screened.

The intriguing cast of Stay Cool includes Chevy Chase, Winona Ryder, Hilary Duff, Sean Astin, and Jon Cryer as well as the man of my dreams, Sawyer (or, Josh Holloway of Lost).

The comedy, written and directed by the Polish brothers, "centers on a successful author (Mark Polish) who is forced to confront an unrequited high school crush (Winona Ryder) when he returns home to deliver a commencement address to graduating seniors. Shasta O'Neil (Hilary Duff), a sexy high school senior flirts with the visiting author and invites him to the prom."

No trailer yet but to see a gallery of quirky photos from this interesting little movie, just read more.

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2009 Tribeca Film Festival Spotlight: The Girlfriend Experience

BuzzSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:00:43 -0700

I've been perusing the long list of interesting-looking movies scheduled for this year's Tribeca Film Festival, which starts this week. Some of them, like The Girlfriend Experience, are already earning some buzz, and I'm anxious to find out what festivalgoers think once they've screened.

Director Steven Soderbergh's latest movie stars real-life porn star Sasha Grey as a high-end prostitute in New York. For her clients, though, she doesn't just provide sex - she creates the whole "girlfriend experience." But at the same time, she has an actual boyfriend of her own. The trailer includes no dialogue at all, just some great drumming in the background. It's all slick-looking apartments, fancy stores, and lovely town cars until you realize this young, glamorous woman is having sex with clients that include men who wear diapers. Yeesh. The movie looks fascinating, even though the subject matter has a bit of an ick factor.

The Girlfriend Experience hits theaters May 22. To watch the trailer for yourself, read more.

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2009 Tribeca Film Festival Spotlight: Moon

BuzzSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:30:29 -0700

I've been perusing the long list of interesting-looking movies scheduled for this year's Tribeca Film Festival, which starts this week. Some of them, like Moon, are already earning buzz, and I'm anxious to find out what festivalgoers think once they've screened.

Starring Sam Rockwell, Moon is the directorial debut of David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones. The movie has already built some momentum from this year's Sundance Film Festival and now there's a trailer for it. And the trailer is creepy.

The movie takes place in the not-so-distant future and follows astronaut Sam Bell (Rockwell) who is completing a three-year stint on the moon where his only company has been a computer (voiced by Kevin Spacey) named GERTY. From the looks of the trailer, all that time alone on the moon starts to seriously affect Sam's emotional state. Most of the reviews so far say that this is a pretty terrific entry to the sci-fi/horror genre that's buoyed by a great performance from Rockwell.

Ready to see for yourself? Just read more.

Moon at IGN.com

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Link Time! 4/23

BuzzSugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:30:36 -0700

The case for renewing Reaper. - HitFix
Who could play a big-screen Bernie Madoff? Maybe Dustin Hoffman or Tom Wilkinson? - Popwatch
Will Arnold Schwarzenegger's cameo make or break Terminator Salvation? - Cinematical
Time for Danny Gokey to shake things up a little. - TV Squad
In celebration of St. George's Day, here are PopUK's top ten favorite British actors. - PopSugarUK
Check out the 2009 Cannes Film Festival lineup. - MTV Movies Blog
Is it wrong for a white director to take on one of August Wilson's plays? - TrèsSugar
Watch five great shorts from the Tribeca Film Festival. - Vulture

Photo courtesy of The CW