There are a lot of go-to platforms for seasonal streaming but do not forget what you presume are outliers to the spooky season cause. Take Mubi for instance. Regarded as a home for the arthouse and the autuer, Mubi is stacked to the rafters with quality programming. They also know that their suscribers like to get their spook on so they've curated a handful of terror-ific titles for the month of October to scratch that spooky itch. Mubi's seasonal programming will include two films from Masumura Yasuzo, Blind Beast and Irezumi - Spider Tattoo. Mubi has also put together a collection of film from female filmmakers, including Censor and The Love Witch. On the doc side they also have Rodney Ascher's A Glitch...
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- 9/29/2023
- Screen Anarchy
Film Independent is currently in the middle of a Matching Campaign to raise support for the next 30 years of filmmaker support. All donations make before or on September 15 will be doubled—dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000. To kick off the campaign, we’re re-posting a few of our most popular blogs.
Among other consumer benefits, one major upside to the increasing niche-ification of popular culture has been the continuing emergence of esoteric micro-genres of film and TV. Twenty years ago, you might not necessarily think of “horror documentaries” as its own subgenre. Sure, there were documentaries that maybe fell a little more on the creepy/unsettling side, but it was rare that a nonfiction film would be tailored to appeal to a horror-first genre audience. Now, of course, things are different. In recent years, a robust tradition of terrifying nonfiction films have emerged, many as terrifying – or even more eerie – than their traditional narrative counterparts.
Among other consumer benefits, one major upside to the increasing niche-ification of popular culture has been the continuing emergence of esoteric micro-genres of film and TV. Twenty years ago, you might not necessarily think of “horror documentaries” as its own subgenre. Sure, there were documentaries that maybe fell a little more on the creepy/unsettling side, but it was rare that a nonfiction film would be tailored to appeal to a horror-first genre audience. Now, of course, things are different. In recent years, a robust tradition of terrifying nonfiction films have emerged, many as terrifying – or even more eerie – than their traditional narrative counterparts.
- 7/27/2023
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
Reminiscent of the Quentin Tarantino / Robert Rodriguez collaboration Grindhouse with its throwback features and faux trailers for non-existent movies, filmmaker and artist Pat Tremblay’s new book Terror in the Ailien Realms: Transdimensional Horror Movie Posters & Their Film Reviews consists of posters for and reviews of movies that have never existed!
An explanation of what this book is all about was provided in a press release (via Variety), “Drawn by the deep nostalgia of roaming video rental stores to find cool movies to watch by judging what its VHS box’s artwork would entice or beguile, filmmaker & artist Pat Tremblay has created a series of horror movie posters with the assistance of AI. He then proposed to talented individuals within the horror movie scene to write imaginary reviews for them. The result is a captivating mixture of styles, ranging from the enigmatic and alluring to the outrageously hilarious. The dimensional...
An explanation of what this book is all about was provided in a press release (via Variety), “Drawn by the deep nostalgia of roaming video rental stores to find cool movies to watch by judging what its VHS box’s artwork would entice or beguile, filmmaker & artist Pat Tremblay has created a series of horror movie posters with the assistance of AI. He then proposed to talented individuals within the horror movie scene to write imaginary reviews for them. The result is a captivating mixture of styles, ranging from the enigmatic and alluring to the outrageously hilarious. The dimensional...
- 7/20/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
It’s no surprise that filmmaker David Lynch’s fanbase has, for four decades, continually renewed itself among each new generation of cineastes. Something about the strange alchemy of the multidisciplinary Eagle Scout’s sensuous images, earnest perspective and intuitive storytelling perspective is intoxicating, buoyed onscreen by the talents of great creative collaborators like Mary Sweeney, Alan Splet and Angelo Badalamenti.
The films themselves are often dark but always honest, their perversions expressive and earned rather than bluntly hammered. As we follow the cosmic tendrils of Lynch’s brain backwards toward their origin, it’s only natural to ask: why does this guy see the world the way he sees it?
One answer may lay in Victor Fleming 1939 MGM classic, whose enchantments reach even further back, to its position as an early television staple for impressional baby boomers developing their imaginations and material predilections in the glow of the family’s suburban RCA console.
The films themselves are often dark but always honest, their perversions expressive and earned rather than bluntly hammered. As we follow the cosmic tendrils of Lynch’s brain backwards toward their origin, it’s only natural to ask: why does this guy see the world the way he sees it?
One answer may lay in Victor Fleming 1939 MGM classic, whose enchantments reach even further back, to its position as an early television staple for impressional baby boomers developing their imaginations and material predilections in the glow of the family’s suburban RCA console.
- 6/13/2023
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
David Lynch does not like talking about his movies. He’d prefer the work speak for itself, thank you very much. But in bending over backwards to avoid discussing what something might “mean,” or deflecting questions with humor and/or cryptic pronunciations, the Blue Velvet filmmaker occasionally drops a breadcrumb hint about what makes him creatively tick. An audience member at a Q&a once asked Lynch whether there was a connection between The Wizard of Oz and the movie he’d just screened, Mullholland Drive. His reply: “There’s...
- 6/3/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
“The Wizard of Oz is a film with very great power… And it’s to be expected that it has stayed with us for the past several years and that we find its echoes in our films for such a long time after. The Wizard of Oz is like a dream and it has immense emotional power,” David Lynch once said. “There’s a certain amount of fear in that picture, as well as things to dream about. So it seems truthful in some way.”
Indeed, from the overt references (Wild at Heart) to the more subtextual (see: every other David Lynch movie), Victor Fleming’s 1939 landmark has been a constant wellspring of influence for the legendary director. Yet even with such source of inspiration, Lynch’s films play as singular creations, every frame infused with a thrillingly unique voice. With his new essay documentary, Alexandre O. Philippe entertainingly explores...
Indeed, from the overt references (Wild at Heart) to the more subtextual (see: every other David Lynch movie), Victor Fleming’s 1939 landmark has been a constant wellspring of influence for the legendary director. Yet even with such source of inspiration, Lynch’s films play as singular creations, every frame infused with a thrillingly unique voice. With his new essay documentary, Alexandre O. Philippe entertainingly explores...
- 5/31/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“Is that an Oz narrative?” asks director Rodney Ascher in the second chapter of Alexandre O. Philippe’s trippy, tricky, and obsessive cine-essay Lynch/Oz. Ascher is clearly being a touch dishonest with the question because he’s at that moment referring to Beverly Hills Cop. He follows up that query by wondering in tongue-in-cheek fashion, “Is everything?”
Even though Philippe’s film is ostensibly about the many ways that The Wizard of Oz permeates the work of David Lynch, Ascher’s half-serious digression into the expansively universal nature of Victor Fleming’s Technicolor musical fantasy, calling its fish-out-water plot a “sturdy template” for just about any kind of film you could imagine, is typical of the filmed essays collected by Philippe. It’s both dead-serious about its subjects and playfully exploratory.
That dual nature is present in Lynch/Oz from the start. In the first chapter, film critic Amy Nicholson,...
Even though Philippe’s film is ostensibly about the many ways that The Wizard of Oz permeates the work of David Lynch, Ascher’s half-serious digression into the expansively universal nature of Victor Fleming’s Technicolor musical fantasy, calling its fish-out-water plot a “sturdy template” for just about any kind of film you could imagine, is typical of the filmed essays collected by Philippe. It’s both dead-serious about its subjects and playfully exploratory.
That dual nature is present in Lynch/Oz from the start. In the first chapter, film critic Amy Nicholson,...
- 5/26/2023
- by Chris Barsanti
- Slant Magazine
When Betty White died in late 2021, I reflected on how our collective affection for her might be the only unifying thing in an increasingly fractured culture.
But we do have Michael J. Fox.
Whether you’re like me and grew up at a time when Fox was simultaneously the biggest star in movies and on television — back when those lines were harder to cross — or you’ve followed his life in the past two decades as a public crusader for Parkinson’s research and awareness, it’s hard not to have personal investment in the Canadian actor and advocate.
Fox gets admirable and intimate documentary treatment in Apple TV+’s Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Director Davis Guggenheim is married to Fox’s ’80s co-star Elisabeth Shue, and whether that gives him a direct connection to Fox or just a direct understanding of...
But we do have Michael J. Fox.
Whether you’re like me and grew up at a time when Fox was simultaneously the biggest star in movies and on television — back when those lines were harder to cross — or you’ve followed his life in the past two decades as a public crusader for Parkinson’s research and awareness, it’s hard not to have personal investment in the Canadian actor and advocate.
Fox gets admirable and intimate documentary treatment in Apple TV+’s Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Director Davis Guggenheim is married to Fox’s ’80s co-star Elisabeth Shue, and whether that gives him a direct connection to Fox or just a direct understanding of...
- 1/20/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Editor’s note: This article includes mild spoilers for “Adult Swim Yule Log.”
All due respect to James Cameron and his underwater actors in “Avatar: The Way of Water,” but you can’t beat the filmmaking gamble of Casper Kelly’s “Adult Swim Yule Log.” Adult Swim’s first feature-length live action endeavor dropped without warning December 11 after the season finale of “Ricky and Morty”: A cozy two-minute yule log video morphs into a disturbing home invasion horror movie that becomes a supernatural cabin-in-the-woods thriller with a young couple (Justin Miles and Andrea Laing) who may be at the mercy of a haunted fireplace.
And then things get really weird, with everything from time travel to UFOs figuring into an unclassifiable odyssey. “My dream has been making movies,” Kelly told IndieWire over Zoom this week. “I thought now that I’ve got one, I’m going to put in everything I can.
All due respect to James Cameron and his underwater actors in “Avatar: The Way of Water,” but you can’t beat the filmmaking gamble of Casper Kelly’s “Adult Swim Yule Log.” Adult Swim’s first feature-length live action endeavor dropped without warning December 11 after the season finale of “Ricky and Morty”: A cozy two-minute yule log video morphs into a disturbing home invasion horror movie that becomes a supernatural cabin-in-the-woods thriller with a young couple (Justin Miles and Andrea Laing) who may be at the mercy of a haunted fireplace.
And then things get really weird, with everything from time travel to UFOs figuring into an unclassifiable odyssey. “My dream has been making movies,” Kelly told IndieWire over Zoom this week. “I thought now that I’ve got one, I’m going to put in everything I can.
- 12/16/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Casper Kelly opens up on how his stealth holiday horror movie came together, its curious development, and the importance of keeping audiences surprised.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to genuinely surprise audiences during a digital age where entire scripts can leak before a movie even exits pre-production. Horror is a genre that thrives through the unknown and its ability to make its audience uncomfortable and unsure of what they’re about to experience. A true surprise is easier said than done, even when there’s a strong plan behind it, but Casper Kelly’s The Fireplace (also known as Adult Swim Yule Log) manages to accomplish this rare feat (read my review here).
Casper Kelly is a challenging avant-garde filmmaker whose cut his teeth on Adult Swim series like Stroker and Hoop and Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, but he’s perhaps better-known for his stylistically ambitious “infomercials,...
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to genuinely surprise audiences during a digital age where entire scripts can leak before a movie even exits pre-production. Horror is a genre that thrives through the unknown and its ability to make its audience uncomfortable and unsure of what they’re about to experience. A true surprise is easier said than done, even when there’s a strong plan behind it, but Casper Kelly’s The Fireplace (also known as Adult Swim Yule Log) manages to accomplish this rare feat (read my review here).
Casper Kelly is a challenging avant-garde filmmaker whose cut his teeth on Adult Swim series like Stroker and Hoop and Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, but he’s perhaps better-known for his stylistically ambitious “infomercials,...
- 12/12/2022
- by Daniel Kurland
- bloody-disgusting.com
How the auteur was influenced by 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz is examined in witty and insightful expert contributions curated by Alexandre O Philippe
Here is a portmanteau movie: a collection of cine-essays, curated by documentarist Alexandre O Philippe, on the question of how director David Lynch was influenced by The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland. There are witty, insightful, dreamily cinephile contributions from a number of expert witnesses: film-makers David Lowery, Karyn Kusama, John Waters, Rodney Ascher, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, and critic Amy Nicholson.
Evidently they are all in love with The Wizard of Oz, and in love with David Lynch, and in love with what their interaction tells us: the juxtaposition of waking reality and another reality, a hidden reality, or buried reality, or transcendent reality which is nonetheless as real, or more real, than anything else. All this is punctiliously laid out, with some...
Here is a portmanteau movie: a collection of cine-essays, curated by documentarist Alexandre O Philippe, on the question of how director David Lynch was influenced by The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland. There are witty, insightful, dreamily cinephile contributions from a number of expert witnesses: film-makers David Lowery, Karyn Kusama, John Waters, Rodney Ascher, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, and critic Amy Nicholson.
Evidently they are all in love with The Wizard of Oz, and in love with David Lynch, and in love with what their interaction tells us: the juxtaposition of waking reality and another reality, a hidden reality, or buried reality, or transcendent reality which is nonetheless as real, or more real, than anything else. All this is punctiliously laid out, with some...
- 11/30/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Stanley Kubrick is known for his meticulous devotion to every aspect of his films, which are painstakingly handcrafted from start to finish. The director's body of work still inspires conversations about the craft of filmmaking, and while some of his works have undergone critical reappraisal over the years, others continue to be lauded due to their thematic richness and enduring appeal.
The vastly interpretative nature of Kubrick's work has led to folks attempting to parse hidden layers of meaning in his films — a good example would be Rodney Ascher's "Room 237," which minutely unboxes what "The Shining" means, almost to a fault. Not every visual or thematic reference in a Kubrick film, however, is a deliberate or conscious nod to some grander idea.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Kubrick was asked whether there was some thematic resonance between certain scenes of "Paths of Glory" and "Full Metal Jacket." While...
The vastly interpretative nature of Kubrick's work has led to folks attempting to parse hidden layers of meaning in his films — a good example would be Rodney Ascher's "Room 237," which minutely unboxes what "The Shining" means, almost to a fault. Not every visual or thematic reference in a Kubrick film, however, is a deliberate or conscious nod to some grander idea.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Kubrick was asked whether there was some thematic resonance between certain scenes of "Paths of Glory" and "Full Metal Jacket." While...
- 11/4/2022
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
David Lynch is the man behind the curtain, the wonderful Wizard of Oz, in the surreal construct we call cinema. Or so documentary “Lynch/Oz” makes it out to be.
Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, the film was born out of auteur Lynch’s response during a Q&a panel at the 2001 New York Film Festival following the screening of “Mulholland Drive.” Lynch said more than 20 years ago that “there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about ‘The Wizard of Oz'” when asked about the classic film’s impact on his own work.
“Lynch/Oz” reframes Lynch’s filmography within the context of the technicolor fantasy dream sequence that propelled innocent Dorothy (Judy Garland) into a storybook world. The documentary will make its U.K. premiere during the BFI London Film Festival and Film 4 will release the feature in U.K. theaters and...
Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, the film was born out of auteur Lynch’s response during a Q&a panel at the 2001 New York Film Festival following the screening of “Mulholland Drive.” Lynch said more than 20 years ago that “there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about ‘The Wizard of Oz'” when asked about the classic film’s impact on his own work.
“Lynch/Oz” reframes Lynch’s filmography within the context of the technicolor fantasy dream sequence that propelled innocent Dorothy (Judy Garland) into a storybook world. The documentary will make its U.K. premiere during the BFI London Film Festival and Film 4 will release the feature in U.K. theaters and...
- 10/4/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Fantastic Fest 2022 has a great selection of film docs, and one of the most interesting ones is the latest from Alexandre O. Philippe. His resume includes some fascinating examinations of classic films, including 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene and Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist. His films always focus on an interesting corner of film and when I heard that he had a new one examining the work of David Lynch, I knew I couldn’t miss it.
This film takes on a bit of a different format from his previous works. It is divided into six chapters and essentially takes on the format of a series of video essays diving into various aspects of Lynch's oeuvre. The common theme is how those works relate or overlap to the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz.
With participation from Amy Nicholson, Rodney Ascher, Aaron Moorehead, Justin Benson, Karyn Kusama,...
This film takes on a bit of a different format from his previous works. It is divided into six chapters and essentially takes on the format of a series of video essays diving into various aspects of Lynch's oeuvre. The common theme is how those works relate or overlap to the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz.
With participation from Amy Nicholson, Rodney Ascher, Aaron Moorehead, Justin Benson, Karyn Kusama,...
- 9/30/2022
- by Emily von Seele
- DailyDead
A woman grieving her husband's death, an eerie, identical house in the woods with a reversed floor plan, and an entity hellbent on dragging a living person to the realm of death. These are the essential ingredients in David Bruckner's psychological horror, "The Night House," which, when combined, leads to a terrifying tale about grief, loss, and emotional trauma.
There are several reasons why Brucker's tale is haunting, which include a meticulous dedication to creating a tense atmosphere and sound design within a setting meant to confuse and disorient. However, the effectiveness of "The Night House" would be incomplete without the mechanics of the titular house, which becomes the site of horror for the protagonist, Beth (Rebecca Hall).
After Beth loses her husband, Owen (Evan Jonigkeit), to suicide, she experiences jarring supernatural events inside her beautiful, secluded home, which Owen had built for the both of them. Amid unaccounted time gaps,...
There are several reasons why Brucker's tale is haunting, which include a meticulous dedication to creating a tense atmosphere and sound design within a setting meant to confuse and disorient. However, the effectiveness of "The Night House" would be incomplete without the mechanics of the titular house, which becomes the site of horror for the protagonist, Beth (Rebecca Hall).
After Beth loses her husband, Owen (Evan Jonigkeit), to suicide, she experiences jarring supernatural events inside her beautiful, secluded home, which Owen had built for the both of them. Amid unaccounted time gaps,...
- 9/30/2022
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
Here’s a film documentary that feels like a time-travel machine. But we’re not escaping into the past — the past is coming to us.
In “My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock,” film-besotted documentarian Mark Cousins hopscotches through the Master of Suspense’s body of work based on ideas and images, not your typical film-by-film chronological approach. He’s made hyperlinked connections throughout Hitchcock’s whole filmography (clips from almost every one of his films appear) to show that these works are not of the past: They remain eternally present tense.
To do that, Cousins presents us with a magnificent trick: making it seem as if Hitchcock is narrating the documentary and guiding you through his work and through the themes you might not otherwise notice. Impressionist Alistair McGowan portrays Hitch in the voiceover and has him down completely, from the sharp intake of breath to the almost-snort that precedes him...
In “My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock,” film-besotted documentarian Mark Cousins hopscotches through the Master of Suspense’s body of work based on ideas and images, not your typical film-by-film chronological approach. He’s made hyperlinked connections throughout Hitchcock’s whole filmography (clips from almost every one of his films appear) to show that these works are not of the past: They remain eternally present tense.
To do that, Cousins presents us with a magnificent trick: making it seem as if Hitchcock is narrating the documentary and guiding you through his work and through the themes you might not otherwise notice. Impressionist Alistair McGowan portrays Hitch in the voiceover and has him down completely, from the sharp intake of breath to the almost-snort that precedes him...
- 9/5/2022
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Virtual reality is as good a place as any to meet people, especially during a pandemic. In documentary helmer Joe Hunting’s nonjudgmental plunge into the fast-evolving metaverse — set entirely in the realm of VRChat, where thousands of players reinvent themselves behind the avatars of their choice — we meet couples who fell in love online, hard-of-hearing outsiders who find a new way to connect with others and lonely souls who say their online friends saved their lives. While the real world was losing its collective mind (Hunting started “filming” in December 2020), these folks were giving lap dances and house parties in cyberspace.
At times, “We Met in Virtual Reality” — which world premiered at the (virtual) Sundance Film Festival last January, and now finds its way into (virtual) release via HBO Max — feels like a feature-length infomercial for this relatively new means of no-contact connection. Except that VR has been around for years and years,...
At times, “We Met in Virtual Reality” — which world premiered at the (virtual) Sundance Film Festival last January, and now finds its way into (virtual) release via HBO Max — feels like a feature-length infomercial for this relatively new means of no-contact connection. Except that VR has been around for years and years,...
- 7/30/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The Wizard of Oz has become a tradition. Synonymous with the wonder of childhood and the wonder of movies, Victor Fleming’s 1939 classic plays in homes across America every year—often cited as the most-watched film in movie history. A portion of those watches come from filmmakers who think it a sacred text, traditional source material for any story they might want to tell. One of those filmmakers is David Lynch, populist surrealist actor, writer, artist, musician, and director.
Lynch/Oz explores the connection between the famous film and dream-focused director. From documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe, this six-chapter inquiry acts as a video essay on that link, each section narrated by a critic or filmmaker, from Amy Nicholson to David Lowery. A mixture of archival footage, interview snippets, and a vast collection of movie scenes, the segments traverse the landscape of Lynch’s directorial efforts and clear parallels to aspects of The Wizard of Oz,...
Lynch/Oz explores the connection between the famous film and dream-focused director. From documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe, this six-chapter inquiry acts as a video essay on that link, each section narrated by a critic or filmmaker, from Amy Nicholson to David Lowery. A mixture of archival footage, interview snippets, and a vast collection of movie scenes, the segments traverse the landscape of Lynch’s directorial efforts and clear parallels to aspects of The Wizard of Oz,...
- 7/5/2022
- by Michael Frank
- The Film Stage
Click here to read the full article.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that an artist who famously goes fishing for material beneath the surface of his conscious mind (via meditation) would frequently “catch ideas” with bits of childhood memories stuck to them, hard as barnacles. For David Lynch, whose films conjure some of the most disturbing psychological states in mainstream cinema, one might expect those memories to be of something less wholesome than The Wizard of Oz. Yet the 1939 classic echoes throughout Lynch’s work, and not just in things as obvious as red shoes and heavy, important curtains.
In Lynch/Oz, Alexandre O. Philippe gathers a handful of gifted filmmakers and writers to, among other things, guess at what all those allusions mean. Though frustratingly unfocused and sometimes overreaching (even compared to Philippe’s other docs, which are never what you’d call precision-crafted), the film is consistently enjoyable,...
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that an artist who famously goes fishing for material beneath the surface of his conscious mind (via meditation) would frequently “catch ideas” with bits of childhood memories stuck to them, hard as barnacles. For David Lynch, whose films conjure some of the most disturbing psychological states in mainstream cinema, one might expect those memories to be of something less wholesome than The Wizard of Oz. Yet the 1939 classic echoes throughout Lynch’s work, and not just in things as obvious as red shoes and heavy, important curtains.
In Lynch/Oz, Alexandre O. Philippe gathers a handful of gifted filmmakers and writers to, among other things, guess at what all those allusions mean. Though frustratingly unfocused and sometimes overreaching (even compared to Philippe’s other docs, which are never what you’d call precision-crafted), the film is consistently enjoyable,...
- 6/9/2022
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It is famously useless (if also occasionally fun) to ask David Lynch about the meaning behind his art, which is why his interviews tend to offer more color than insight, and his panel appearances often prove to be exercises in frustration. It’s also why “Jennifer’s Body” director Karyn Kusama has such a vivid memory of what happened during the Q&a that followed the NYFF screening of “Mulholland Drive” in 2001, when Lynch’s usual elusiveness was suddenly interrupted by a question that seemed to pierce his armor and pull back the curtains of his mind.
The question was simple: “Can you talk about the influence of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ on your work?” Lynch’s answer was even simpler, but also intoxicatingly mysterious in the way that simple things often are in his films: “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about ‘The Wizard of Oz....
The question was simple: “Can you talk about the influence of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ on your work?” Lynch’s answer was even simpler, but also intoxicatingly mysterious in the way that simple things often are in his films: “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about ‘The Wizard of Oz....
- 6/9/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
For better and worse, the 109-minute essay doc “Lynch/Oz” often feels like an anthology of thematically-connected shorts, all of which concern American filmmaker David Lynch and his recurring fascination with the classic 1939 movie adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz.”
Thankfully, the awkward presentation and inconsistent tone of each segment, divided into chapters with distinct themes, only slightly dampen the general effect of watching a few intelligent, articulate talking-head interview subjects (including filmmakers John Waters and Rodney Ascher) dig deep as they talk over footage from Lynch’s movies.
Some talking heads understandably struggle with adapting their natural speaking voice into voiceover narration. But some awkward phrasing and unnecessary throat-clearing only negligibly diminish writer-director Alexandre O. Philippe’s compelling juxtaposition of footage from “The Wizard of Oz” with Lynch projects like “Wild at Heart,” “Blue Velvet,” and “Twin Peaks.” So while some talking points tend to be belabored and others...
Thankfully, the awkward presentation and inconsistent tone of each segment, divided into chapters with distinct themes, only slightly dampen the general effect of watching a few intelligent, articulate talking-head interview subjects (including filmmakers John Waters and Rodney Ascher) dig deep as they talk over footage from Lynch’s movies.
Some talking heads understandably struggle with adapting their natural speaking voice into voiceover narration. But some awkward phrasing and unnecessary throat-clearing only negligibly diminish writer-director Alexandre O. Philippe’s compelling juxtaposition of footage from “The Wizard of Oz” with Lynch projects like “Wild at Heart,” “Blue Velvet,” and “Twin Peaks.” So while some talking points tend to be belabored and others...
- 6/9/2022
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
With Netflix’s recent emphasis on creating their own movies to fill up their vast digital library, there has been less importance placed on older, licensed films from other studios. But March’s slate of new Netflix movies is a potent mixture of Netflix original films and titles from elsewhere, making for a rich bouquet of springtime entertainment. (You heard us.)
Below are the very best new movies on Netflix this month – from horrifying nightmares to ace fighter pilots to “My Best Friend’s Wedding” (and everything in between).
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) New Line Cinema
Two “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies are making their debut on Netflix this month – both Wes Craven’s 1984 original and a widely derided 2010 remake starring Rooney Mara and Jackie Earle Haley. We suggest you stick with the original, which introduced the world to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), the burnt, razor-fingered child predator who returns in dreams to seek his revenge.
Below are the very best new movies on Netflix this month – from horrifying nightmares to ace fighter pilots to “My Best Friend’s Wedding” (and everything in between).
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) New Line Cinema
Two “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies are making their debut on Netflix this month – both Wes Craven’s 1984 original and a widely derided 2010 remake starring Rooney Mara and Jackie Earle Haley. We suggest you stick with the original, which introduced the world to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), the burnt, razor-fingered child predator who returns in dreams to seek his revenge.
- 3/13/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
The year “The Matrix” came out — 1999 — already had a very sci-fi sound to it. It was the year Prince had imagined as the run-up to the apocalypse, a premonition that would be echoed in the Y2K jitters. And 1999 is just such a cool number; it’s like the other side of the coin from 2001. With its row of nines poised to turn over, it sounded like the future embedded in the present. And that’s kind of how 1999 felt. We knew that we were moving into the 21st century, and we thought we had a good idea of what that was about. The Internet was only a few years old, but already we could see where it was pointing: to a digital world that would bring everything (literally) to your fingertips. Everything could now be done at home, at the computer keyboard, including the manipulation of reality, which could...
- 12/26/2021
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
The Two Sights Review: Joshua Bonnetta Examines the Scottish Outer Hebrides with Soothing Minimalism
To quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail, for documentarian Joshua Bonnetta, the Scottish Outer Hebrides is something of a “very silly place.” This is not to denigrate the remote cluster of islands on Scotland’s northern tip, and its inhabitants––far from it. More that, when taken as a whole, Bonnetta has been able to uncover a vast cluster of eccentricity on these sparsely populated lands, where people can see, hear or intuit things others can’t, and then tell of it gladly. Empirical science would question this, of course, but Bonnetta’s interviewees seem to transcend that, and instead carry knowledge more common to the animist practices of early homo sapiens, or maybe another plane of human evolution altogether. To cite a timely cinematic reference point, the desired end-goal of the Bene Gesserit breeding project in Dune, is this ability to intuit the future––the cutting-edge of human...
- 10/22/2021
- by David Katz
- The Film Stage
The distributor of films like “Melancholia” and “John Lewis: Good Trouble” is reportedly seeking a buyer. Magnolia Pictures has hired investment bank Stephens to run a sale of the company, Deadline reported after the New York Times first broke word of a potential sale on Wednesday.
The move comes as consolidation is rapidly reshaping the industry for the streaming era. While it has amassed a diverse library of 500 films during its 20 years in business, Magnolia is a vastly different company than other recent Hollywood acquisitions targets, like MGM with its exploitable IP or Reese Witherspoon’s “Big Little Lies” production outfit Hello Sunshine.
The Hollywood Reporter once called Magnolia “one of the last indie distribution houses dedicated to art house fare.” Magnolia wants to find out what that might be worth in a time where box office revenues are down, but streaming has fueled a demand for content that has never been greater.
The move comes as consolidation is rapidly reshaping the industry for the streaming era. While it has amassed a diverse library of 500 films during its 20 years in business, Magnolia is a vastly different company than other recent Hollywood acquisitions targets, like MGM with its exploitable IP or Reese Witherspoon’s “Big Little Lies” production outfit Hello Sunshine.
The Hollywood Reporter once called Magnolia “one of the last indie distribution houses dedicated to art house fare.” Magnolia wants to find out what that might be worth in a time where box office revenues are down, but streaming has fueled a demand for content that has never been greater.
- 10/6/2021
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
Swan Song, Mayday, Queen Of Glory, A Glitch In The Matrix galvanise buyers.
Magnolia Pictures International head Lorna Lee Torres has reported brisk sales in Cannes on Udo Kier drama and SXSW selection Swan Song, Sundance action fantasy Mayday, Tribeca winner Queen Of Glory, and Sundance Midnight entry A Glitch In The Matrix.
Torres and Magnolia international sales director Marie Zeniter attended Cannes for what proved to be a productive trip.
Rights to Swan Song have gone in the UK (Peccadillo), Germany and Austria (Koch Media), Switzerland (Ascot Elite), Australia and New Zealand (Icon), Scandinavia, Baltics, Iceland (NonStop), Canada (Mongrel...
Magnolia Pictures International head Lorna Lee Torres has reported brisk sales in Cannes on Udo Kier drama and SXSW selection Swan Song, Sundance action fantasy Mayday, Tribeca winner Queen Of Glory, and Sundance Midnight entry A Glitch In The Matrix.
Torres and Magnolia international sales director Marie Zeniter attended Cannes for what proved to be a productive trip.
Rights to Swan Song have gone in the UK (Peccadillo), Germany and Austria (Koch Media), Switzerland (Ascot Elite), Australia and New Zealand (Icon), Scandinavia, Baltics, Iceland (NonStop), Canada (Mongrel...
- 7/19/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Also sold at the festival were Mayday, Queen Of Glory and A Glitch In The Matrix.
Magnolia Pictures International has reported a number of sales deals on its Cannes slate titles Swan Song, Mayday, Queen Of Glory and A Glitch In The Matrix.
With Udo Kier starring as a retired small-town hairdresser for director Todd Stephens, comedy Swan Song sold to Peccadillo for the UK, Koch Media for Germany/Austria, Ascot Elite for Switzerland, Icon for Australia/New Zealand, Nonstop for Scandinavia, the Baltics and Iceland, Mongrel for Canada, Telefilms for Latin America, Tongariro for Poland and Penny Black for airlines.
Magnolia Pictures International has reported a number of sales deals on its Cannes slate titles Swan Song, Mayday, Queen Of Glory and A Glitch In The Matrix.
With Udo Kier starring as a retired small-town hairdresser for director Todd Stephens, comedy Swan Song sold to Peccadillo for the UK, Koch Media for Germany/Austria, Ascot Elite for Switzerland, Icon for Australia/New Zealand, Nonstop for Scandinavia, the Baltics and Iceland, Mongrel for Canada, Telefilms for Latin America, Tongariro for Poland and Penny Black for airlines.
- 7/15/2021
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Ben Wheatley’s ‘In The Earth’ is playing in the main competition of the Swiss festival.
UK director Ben Wheatley’s in The Earth is among the competition contenders in this year’s 20th Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival which will take place as a hybrid edition from July 2-10 in Switzerland.
It is taking place under the interim directorship of Loïc Valceschini before a new head, Pierre-Yves Walder, takes up the reins in July.
The event includes 55 films, eight short films, eight immersive installations and two TV productions. Among the special guests will be legendary VFX artist Volker Engel,...
UK director Ben Wheatley’s in The Earth is among the competition contenders in this year’s 20th Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival which will take place as a hybrid edition from July 2-10 in Switzerland.
It is taking place under the interim directorship of Loïc Valceschini before a new head, Pierre-Yves Walder, takes up the reins in July.
The event includes 55 films, eight short films, eight immersive installations and two TV productions. Among the special guests will be legendary VFX artist Volker Engel,...
- 6/17/2021
- ScreenDaily
With a slimmer lineup and much of the action taking place online rather than in Park City, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival will be anything but normal. But if early sales activity is any indication, the hybrid virtual/in-person festival will still serve as a key acquisitions market for distributors.
News of the first deals broke on December 16, the day after Sundance revealed its full slate of 72 features. That’s when Bleecker Street announced it has acquired North American rights to Nikole Beckwith’s “Together Together” and Magnolia Pictures revealed it has nabbed Rodney Ascher’s Midnight section pick “A Glitch in the Matrix.”
While those two movies come from established filmmakers, over half of the festival lineup comes from first-time feature directors. Over 90 percent of the slate are world premieres.
That suggests there is plenty of opportunity for the discovery of hidden gems. But with streaming — coupled with satellite screenings...
News of the first deals broke on December 16, the day after Sundance revealed its full slate of 72 features. That’s when Bleecker Street announced it has acquired North American rights to Nikole Beckwith’s “Together Together” and Magnolia Pictures revealed it has nabbed Rodney Ascher’s Midnight section pick “A Glitch in the Matrix.”
While those two movies come from established filmmakers, over half of the festival lineup comes from first-time feature directors. Over 90 percent of the slate are world premieres.
That suggests there is plenty of opportunity for the discovery of hidden gems. But with streaming — coupled with satellite screenings...
- 6/8/2021
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
Coda, Jockey, Superior among initial wave of deal-making.
While there hasn’t been the usual post-opening weekend torrent of Sundance deals this year, business is getting done and Apple delivered a record $25m buy on feel-good multi-award winnerCODA.
Sundance always has a long tail and deals will trickle in for weeks and months after the event, which officially ends on February 3.
At time of writing buyers were circling Questlove’s documentary Summer Of Soul, Sean Ellis’s werewolf film Eight For Silver, Franz Kanz’s post-shooting massacre drama Mass, and Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.’s thriller Wild Indian, among others.
While there hasn’t been the usual post-opening weekend torrent of Sundance deals this year, business is getting done and Apple delivered a record $25m buy on feel-good multi-award winnerCODA.
Sundance always has a long tail and deals will trickle in for weeks and months after the event, which officially ends on February 3.
At time of writing buyers were circling Questlove’s documentary Summer Of Soul, Sean Ellis’s werewolf film Eight For Silver, Franz Kanz’s post-shooting massacre drama Mass, and Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.’s thriller Wild Indian, among others.
- 3/29/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Doc Corner, by Glenn Dunks, is back after its brief hiatus.
Rodney Ascher makes extremely goofy documentaries. I am sure that he comes at them with all the seriousness that their dark and sinister tones would suggest, but that doesn’t stop them from ending up as, well, extremely goofy movies. There was Room 237 about interpretations of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. There was also The Nightmare, about sleep paralysis. Both goofy.
That doesn’t mean they’re not entertaining. In fact, that’s often their most commendable aspect. Lord knows, it certainly cannot be said that Ascher lacks imagination behind the camera and has an ability to gravitate towards subjects that demand more than a basic documentary toolkit to pull together...
Rodney Ascher makes extremely goofy documentaries. I am sure that he comes at them with all the seriousness that their dark and sinister tones would suggest, but that doesn’t stop them from ending up as, well, extremely goofy movies. There was Room 237 about interpretations of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. There was also The Nightmare, about sleep paralysis. Both goofy.
That doesn’t mean they’re not entertaining. In fact, that’s often their most commendable aspect. Lord knows, it certainly cannot be said that Ascher lacks imagination behind the camera and has an ability to gravitate towards subjects that demand more than a basic documentary toolkit to pull together...
- 3/25/2021
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Disney co-production and genre features among several features sold.
Russian distributors have closed multiple deals in the wake of the recent European Film Market (EFM), including a fantasy hit produced with Disney and several genre features.
Moscow-based All Media has been doing strong business with fantasy adventure The Last Warrior as well as sequel and recent box office success The Last Warrior: Root Of Evil.
The two films, produced by the Walt Disney Company Cis with independent studio Yellow, Black and White group, have been sold to Germany (Telepool), Italy (Minerva Pictures) and France (Mediawan Rights).
The Last Warrior: Root Of Evil...
Russian distributors have closed multiple deals in the wake of the recent European Film Market (EFM), including a fantasy hit produced with Disney and several genre features.
Moscow-based All Media has been doing strong business with fantasy adventure The Last Warrior as well as sequel and recent box office success The Last Warrior: Root Of Evil.
The two films, produced by the Walt Disney Company Cis with independent studio Yellow, Black and White group, have been sold to Germany (Telepool), Italy (Minerva Pictures) and France (Mediawan Rights).
The Last Warrior: Root Of Evil...
- 3/22/2021
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Another week, another step toward the world as we knew it before Covid-19, thanks to nationwide vaccination efforts and the gradual reopening of theaters. A week after New York cinemas cautiously reopened, Los Angeles plans to do the same, and distributors are serving up movies they’d kept on the sidelines to serve the venues that have suffered so greatly this past year — although after last week’s deluge, this one brings a pretty meager menu of new releases.
Perhaps most tantalizing is Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Human Voice,” starring Tilda Swinton. Sony Pictures Classics is releasing the 30-minute short film, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival (one of 2020’s few in-person events), in just a handful of theaters, along with a fresh restoration of the Spanish master’s “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.” That means audiences can come just for a short, social-distanced experience (ducking...
Perhaps most tantalizing is Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Human Voice,” starring Tilda Swinton. Sony Pictures Classics is releasing the 30-minute short film, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival (one of 2020’s few in-person events), in just a handful of theaters, along with a fresh restoration of the Spanish master’s “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.” That means audiences can come just for a short, social-distanced experience (ducking...
- 3/12/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
“Come True” wears its many influences on its sleeve, notably the work of David Cronenberg and Philip K. Dick, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Donnie Darko,” with nods to “The Shining,” “Night of the Living Dead” and “The Terminator” thrown in for good measure. Nonetheless, filmmaker Anthony Scott Burns (“Our House”) melds those inspirations — as well as Rodney Ascher’s “The Nightmare” — to craft a uniquely illusory sci-fi thriller about an adrift young woman who copes with her unsettling slumbering visions by participating in a sleep study. that should bolster its chances to break out of the genre pack when it debuts in select theaters and on VOD on March 12.
Estranged from her mother for unknown reasons, 18-year-old Sarah (Julia Sarah Stone) spends her nights in a sleeping bag on a playground slide, her mind gliding forward through dark, misty passageways decorated with shadowy bodies and structures, and ending...
Estranged from her mother for unknown reasons, 18-year-old Sarah (Julia Sarah Stone) spends her nights in a sleeping bag on a playground slide, her mind gliding forward through dark, misty passageways decorated with shadowy bodies and structures, and ending...
- 3/12/2021
- by Nick Schager
- Variety Film + TV
Some Kind Of Heaven sells to Dogwoof in UK, Filmin in Spain, Ppcw in Hong Kong.
Magnolia Pictures International has reported brisk business on its virtual EFM sales slate with multiple territory sales on Sundance Midnight selection A Glitch In The Matrix, Held, Listen, When I’m Done Dying, and Some Kind Of Heaven.
Rights to A Glitch In The Matrix, Rodney Ascher’s documentary that explores the theory that humans exist within a vast simulation, have gone in Scandinavia, Baltics and Iceland (Nonstop), Cis (Capella Films), and Poland (Ale Kino +).
Magnolia Pictures released the film in the US on...
Magnolia Pictures International has reported brisk business on its virtual EFM sales slate with multiple territory sales on Sundance Midnight selection A Glitch In The Matrix, Held, Listen, When I’m Done Dying, and Some Kind Of Heaven.
Rights to A Glitch In The Matrix, Rodney Ascher’s documentary that explores the theory that humans exist within a vast simulation, have gone in Scandinavia, Baltics and Iceland (Nonstop), Cis (Capella Films), and Poland (Ale Kino +).
Magnolia Pictures released the film in the US on...
- 3/11/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Magnolia Pictures has acquired the North American rights to “Censor,” a horror film that premiered in the Midnight Section of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Director Prano Bailey-Bond film, which stars Niamh Algar (“Raised by Wolves”) will next play at the Berlinale Panorama section in March. Magnolia is planning to release “Censor” on June 11.
“Censor” stars Algar as a film censor who discovers an eerie horror movie that speaks directly to her sister’s mysterious disappearance. She resolves to unravel the puzzle behind the film and its enigmatic director — a quest that will blur the lines between fiction and reality in terrifying ways.
“Prano Bailey-Bond has delivered a frightening, incredibly original film,” Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles said in a statement. “It is a rare work that has a lot on its mind as well as being genuinely terrifying.”
“Magnolia Pictures champion exactly the unique, powerful cinema that I love,...
Director Prano Bailey-Bond film, which stars Niamh Algar (“Raised by Wolves”) will next play at the Berlinale Panorama section in March. Magnolia is planning to release “Censor” on June 11.
“Censor” stars Algar as a film censor who discovers an eerie horror movie that speaks directly to her sister’s mysterious disappearance. She resolves to unravel the puzzle behind the film and its enigmatic director — a quest that will blur the lines between fiction and reality in terrifying ways.
“Prano Bailey-Bond has delivered a frightening, incredibly original film,” Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles said in a statement. “It is a rare work that has a lot on its mind as well as being genuinely terrifying.”
“Magnolia Pictures champion exactly the unique, powerful cinema that I love,...
- 2/23/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Are we living in a simulation? Some might say if this is the case then someone needs the sack, as this life is really taking the Michael at the moment! Regardless, simulation theory is a wild notion that has really taken off – unsurprisingly – since The Wachowski’s influential Sci-Fi hit The Matrix but which actually goes back much much further, as director Rodney Ascher shows us in his latest mind-bending documentary feature, backed by the brilliant Dogwoof distribution. And this might be one of Ascher’s strongest opinion forming films yet! As we ask, are we really living in a real life The Sims?
Structured around an eye-opening 1977 Phillip K. Dick lecture in France, this documentary uses interviews with ranging participants (some of whom are coated in fantastical digital Avatars), CGI-rendered interpretations of their ideas/experiences and well chosen film/TV clips/real images, to delve into this subject’s unending potential,...
Structured around an eye-opening 1977 Phillip K. Dick lecture in France, this documentary uses interviews with ranging participants (some of whom are coated in fantastical digital Avatars), CGI-rendered interpretations of their ideas/experiences and well chosen film/TV clips/real images, to delve into this subject’s unending potential,...
- 2/13/2021
- by Jack Bottomley
- The Cultural Post
Above: In the Same Breath Browsing through the gargantuan output of reviews, dispatches, and reports coming in from Sundance, the festival’s 2021 edition is widely praised as a logistical and curatorial success. Shortened to seven days compared to the usual ten, its films premiered on a bespoke digital platform and in a handful of selected hubs in Utah and other US states—a hybrid approach that worked smoothly, and made up for the social-cultural intangibles lost in the online format. As Eric Kohn notes at IndieWire, the new virtual hangout spaces set up for post-screening discussions helped make sure “#Sundance felt like Sundance,” while the edition’s slimmer lineup also gave more breathing room to smaller, more intriguing titles. If those went on to enjoy “the proverbial big-stage treatment,” A.A. Dowd contends in his roundup at the A.V. Club, it was largely because “they weren’t competing with the more polished,...
- 2/10/2021
- MUBI
In Theaters And On Demand Now Watch the Official Full-Length Trailer: Directed by Rodney Ascher Produced by Ross M. Dinerstein What if we are living in a simulation, and the world as we know it is not real? To tackle this mind-bending idea, acclaimed filmmaker Rodney Ascher uses a noted speech from …
The post New Official Trailer | A Glitch In The Matrix | In Theaters & On Demand Now appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
The post New Official Trailer | A Glitch In The Matrix | In Theaters & On Demand Now appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
- 2/7/2021
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
Director Rodney Ascher has long been interested in what might be called backwater phenomenon - like some of the edgier explanations for sleep paralysis in The Nightmare - or the sort of fringe theories that make people tick and that formed the hub of Room 237, which considered some fans' fascination with Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.
For his latest documentary - which had its world premiere at Sundance - science-fiction luminary Philip K Dick provides the springboard for a dive into the rabbit hole of simulation theory. Simply put - although it is given various embellishments here - it is the idea that, not unlike Keanu Reeves' Neo in The Matrix, we are all part of a manufactured, virtual world, complete with "non-player characters". If you prefer an older touchstone, think of all those fake storefronts in Blazing Saddles, which like The Matrix is one of many films referenced in.
For his latest documentary - which had its world premiere at Sundance - science-fiction luminary Philip K Dick provides the springboard for a dive into the rabbit hole of simulation theory. Simply put - although it is given various embellishments here - it is the idea that, not unlike Keanu Reeves' Neo in The Matrix, we are all part of a manufactured, virtual world, complete with "non-player characters". If you prefer an older touchstone, think of all those fake storefronts in Blazing Saddles, which like The Matrix is one of many films referenced in.
- 2/7/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Rodney Ascher’s documentary “A Glitch in the Matrix,” which premiered at Sundance and opens on Friday, examines the idea popularized in “The Matrix” of whether we’re all living in a simulation or video game controlled by some higher power. But you’ll notice that even though the movie’s main subjects are all given bizarre-looking CGI avatars, all four individuals are white men.
In speaking with TheWrap’s Sundance Studio sponsored by Nfp and National Geographic, Ascher said it’s a fair observation and begs the question of whether the idea that we’re all living in The Matrix is only something that’s really caught on with dudes who want to be Keanu Reeves (it’s worth noting that the directors of “The Matrix” are both trans women).
In finding the film’s four main subjects, all of whom are ordinary individuals with deeply held beliefs that...
In speaking with TheWrap’s Sundance Studio sponsored by Nfp and National Geographic, Ascher said it’s a fair observation and begs the question of whether the idea that we’re all living in The Matrix is only something that’s really caught on with dudes who want to be Keanu Reeves (it’s worth noting that the directors of “The Matrix” are both trans women).
In finding the film’s four main subjects, all of whom are ordinary individuals with deeply held beliefs that...
- 2/6/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Rodney Ascher‘s (Room 237) new documentary asks: what if we’re all living in a simulation? It’s a creepy thought, and A Glitch in the Matrix explores it in detail. The documentary, which debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, explores the subject of simulation theory, a long-held theory that reality is not what it seems. Watch the A Glitch […]
The post ‘A Glitch in the Matrix’ Trailer: A Creepy New Documentary About Simulation Theory appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘A Glitch in the Matrix’ Trailer: A Creepy New Documentary About Simulation Theory appeared first on /Film.
- 2/5/2021
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
February is shaping up to be something special. In response to a pandemic-extended awards season, the sort of films that used to crowd the release calendar just before New Year’s in an effort to Oscar-qualify while also still maintaining some measure of last-minute/latest-thing freshness are now arranging to come out over the coming weeks.
Think of that as a teaser of such upcoming films as “Minari” and “Nomadland” more than a reflection of this week’s lineup, although a couple of this week’s releases feature elements the marketing departments would be happy to hear described as “Oscar worthy.”
The first is Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut, in which he plays a gay man dealing with his father’s dementia (featuring a raging performance by Lance Henriksen). The second is Sam Levinson’s resourceful two-hander “Malcolm & Marie,” made during the pandemic and featuring two terrific, on-fire performances...
Think of that as a teaser of such upcoming films as “Minari” and “Nomadland” more than a reflection of this week’s lineup, although a couple of this week’s releases feature elements the marketing departments would be happy to hear described as “Oscar worthy.”
The first is Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut, in which he plays a gay man dealing with his father’s dementia (featuring a raging performance by Lance Henriksen). The second is Sam Levinson’s resourceful two-hander “Malcolm & Marie,” made during the pandemic and featuring two terrific, on-fire performances...
- 2/5/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
With Sundance Film Festival now in the rearview, it’s time to look at the worthwhile new releases of February. Featuring the roll-out of Oscar hopefuls, imaginative sci-fi features, and more, it’s a compelling line-up. We’ll also note that French Exit, which was considered for the list, will only get a small NY/LA release this month before returning in April, so we’ll feature it then.
13. A Glitch in the Matrix (Rodney Ascher)
Room 237 director Rodney Ascher has returned, this time to explore the very fabric of reality, or lack thereof. John Fink said in his review of the recent Sundance premiere, “I often wonder what influential film theorist Andre Bazin would make of VR and simulations, especially when this year’s Sundance has virtualized the festival experience in a way that benefits from a longer runway than most cultural events pivoting likewise. It’s only fitting...
13. A Glitch in the Matrix (Rodney Ascher)
Room 237 director Rodney Ascher has returned, this time to explore the very fabric of reality, or lack thereof. John Fink said in his review of the recent Sundance premiere, “I often wonder what influential film theorist Andre Bazin would make of VR and simulations, especially when this year’s Sundance has virtualized the festival experience in a way that benefits from a longer runway than most cultural events pivoting likewise. It’s only fitting...
- 2/5/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"The only clue we have is when some alteration in our reality occurs." Magnolia Pictures has released one final full-length trailer for A Glitch in the Matrix, the latest film from conspiracy doc filmmaker Rodney Ascher - of Room 237, The Nightmare, and The El Duce Tapes. A Glitch in the Matrix tackles this question "are we living in a simulation?" with testimony, philosophical evidence and scientific explanation in his for the answer. The feature film "traces the idea's genesis over the years, from philosophical engagements by the ancient Greeks to modern discussions by Philip K. Dick, the Wachowskis, and leading scholars and game theorists. Ascher deftly parallels conversations with people who believe we're living in a computer with the purely digital nature of the film itself; all interviews were conducted via Skype, all reenactments were digitally animated, and archives are largely drawn from ’90s-era cyber thrillers and video games.
- 2/5/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
2021 is now in full swing, and film distributors are beginning to feel out what the new normal actually is. Given the latest news about Covid variants, movie theaters remain a tenuous bet—although some films are still releasing there—while streaming at home becomes evermore enticing with one of Warner Bros.’ Oscar contenders set to premiere simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. This month also marks the theatrical and/or streaming release of some of last year’s best films.
So for film lovers, the choice of what to watch (and how to view it) remains more varied than ever. Here’s a guide to what’s coming up in February:
A Glitch in the Matrix
February 5
After chronicling the oddest of oddball theories regarding Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining in the documentary Room 237, filmmaker Rodney Ascher is back to take on sci-fi classic The Matrix. In truth,...
So for film lovers, the choice of what to watch (and how to view it) remains more varied than ever. Here’s a guide to what’s coming up in February:
A Glitch in the Matrix
February 5
After chronicling the oddest of oddball theories regarding Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining in the documentary Room 237, filmmaker Rodney Ascher is back to take on sci-fi classic The Matrix. In truth,...
- 2/5/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Rodney Ascher's latest docutmentary A Glitch in the Matrix was quickly nabbed by Magnolia Pictures long before it premiered at Sundance last week. And now that the documentary about the simulation hypothesis is out today an official trailer has been released. Check it out below. What if we are living in a simulation, and the world as we know it is not real? To tackle this mind-bending idea, acclaimed filmmaker Rodney Ascher uses a noted speech from Philip K. Dick to dive down the rabbit hole of science, philosophy, and conspiracy theory. Leaving no stone unturned in exploring the unprovable, the film uses contemporary cultural touchstones like The Matrix, interviews with real people shrouded in digital avatars, and a wide...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/5/2021
- Screen Anarchy
After the release of “The Matrix” back in 1999, there was renewed interest in the time-tested theory that the world around us is a simulation. And now, even today, perhaps more than ever before, that theory is still being discussed. Enter the new documentary, “A Glitch in the Matrix.”
Read More: The 20 Best Documentaries Of 2020
As seen in the trailer for the new doc, “A Glitch in the Matrix” tackles the notion that reality is just a simulation.
Continue reading ‘A Glitch In The Matrix’ Trailer: Rodney Ascher’s Sundance Doc Tackles The Nature Of Reality at The Playlist.
Read More: The 20 Best Documentaries Of 2020
As seen in the trailer for the new doc, “A Glitch in the Matrix” tackles the notion that reality is just a simulation.
Continue reading ‘A Glitch In The Matrix’ Trailer: Rodney Ascher’s Sundance Doc Tackles The Nature Of Reality at The Playlist.
- 2/5/2021
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Magnolia Pictures has released the official trailer for the Sundance Midnight title “A Glitch in the Matrix,” which just happens to coincide with the movie’s theatrical and VOD release. Directed by “Room 207” filmmaker Rodney Ascher, the cerebral documentary plumbs the depths of “simulation theory,” which has been floating around for centuries but reached a less fringe place in popular culture due to the success of “The Matrix.” Diving down the rabbit hole of science, philosophy, and conspiracy theory, “A Glitch in The Matrix” uses a wide array of commentators and cultural touchstones to mine the question of whether the world as we know it is a simulation.
IndieWire’s Eric Kohn wrote in his Sundance review: “Drawing on interviews with 10 experts and internet theorists with an endearing mashup of film clips and trippy 3-D animation, ‘A Glitch in the Matrix’ adapts to the internal logic of its echo chamber...
IndieWire’s Eric Kohn wrote in his Sundance review: “Drawing on interviews with 10 experts and internet theorists with an endearing mashup of film clips and trippy 3-D animation, ‘A Glitch in the Matrix’ adapts to the internal logic of its echo chamber...
- 2/5/2021
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Dear Comrades! (Andrei Konchalovsky)
The gears of oppressive government bureaucracy are designed to crush homegrown opposition before it becomes too threatening. In that sense, institutions and policies put in place by Hitler’s Third Reich and Trump’s Maga cult have a lot in common with those of 20th century Communist Russia, an ideological rope-a-dope that publically posited figureheads like Stalin and later Khrushchev as warriors of the people while privately undermining any citizen-led resistance with brutal force. Andrei Konchalovsky’s great new film Dear Comrades! depicts such a response with the sobering understanding that historical events of any magnitude can be easily manipulated to match the motivations of those in power.
Dear Comrades! (Andrei Konchalovsky)
The gears of oppressive government bureaucracy are designed to crush homegrown opposition before it becomes too threatening. In that sense, institutions and policies put in place by Hitler’s Third Reich and Trump’s Maga cult have a lot in common with those of 20th century Communist Russia, an ideological rope-a-dope that publically posited figureheads like Stalin and later Khrushchev as warriors of the people while privately undermining any citizen-led resistance with brutal force. Andrei Konchalovsky’s great new film Dear Comrades! depicts such a response with the sobering understanding that historical events of any magnitude can be easily manipulated to match the motivations of those in power.
- 2/5/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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