DVD Review: UNCERTAINTY

Written and Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lynn Collins

E1 Entertainment

The inability to make up one's mind about something can be infuriating.  When the choice at hand is one that will certainly alter the course of your life, that frustration can almost be debilitating.  Life will randomly throw explosives at you and there is no way for you to know where everything will land once you set those bombs off.  You do know that if you do nothing about them though, they will still go off.  If only we could split our lives into two separate entities, just for a day.  Then, maybe we could see that all roads lead us somewhere and that even though this somewhere is not where we thought we would end up, it isn't necessarily a bad place to be.  Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way but that doesn't stop writer/directors, Scott McGehee and David Siegel from exploring just that in their latest collaboration, UNCERTAINTY.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 DAYS OF SUMMER) and Lynn Collins (X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE) star as Bobby and Kate, a couple with choices to make about their future.  Their journey begins on the Brooklyn Bridge and for the first five minutes, it would appear as though we are just as doomed as they are.  To set up their highly conceptual plot, McGehee and Siegel have the lovers speaking symbolism instead of words.  It is as painful coming out of their mouths as it is going into our ears.  Essentially, they are debating whether or not they can really do what they've been thinking about doing without actually saying what that is.  The choice is to go for it and suddenly they each sprint in opposite directions and meet up with alternate reality versions of each other on the other side.  Let the abstraction begin!

While following the initial split is jarring, the split lives themselves are actually quite engaging.  Gordon-Levitt and Collins work well together and the timely manner in which their secrets and troubles are revealed to us is properly paced, allowing us to be with them in their confusion.  Consequently, it is easy to sympathize and hope for their future.  It is also easy to get lost in the colorful and carefully shot New York City backdrop.  It all culminates back on the bridge though and sinks back into awkwardness but everything in between makes for a stimulating time, both visually and mentally.

I'm not quite certain about UNCERTAINTY, but I do know that it distracted me from my own explosions for a couple of hours.  I'm not sure if any questions were really answered or if resolution is even the point though.  And so in saying good night to Bobby and Kate, I go back to my own confusion.

Black Sheep @ The Box Office

Oh boo hoo.  How everyone is so disappointed that IRON MAN 2 didn't break any records this weekend at the box office.  Suddenly, the fifth biggest opening of all time isn't impressive to anyone.  $133 million and a $30K per screen average is nothing to scoff at.  I say it's a great start to summer and the Marvel pic is sure to give ROBIN HOOD a run for it's money next week.

No studio was dumb enough to put anything up against IRON MAN 2 this weekend.  The only mild counter programming came from the documentary, BABIES, meant to capitalize on Mother's Day sentiment.  I don't know about you but my mother is going to see Robert Downey Jr. and friends today.  BABIES was able to score a Top 10 finish but wasn't even able to crack $3K per screen.  I still say they would have made money if they had gotten Morgan Freeman to do some narration.

In other box office happenings, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET reboot plummeted over 72% in week two.  Bad word of mouth and direct competition from that other guy who likes to play with metal killed this one.  THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES and PLEASE GIVE continued to play well in limited release and MOTHER AND CHILD, an adoption drama with Annette Bening and Naomi Watts, opened to an $11K per screen on just four screens.

NEXT WEEK: Summer enters its second week with the Queen Latifah comedy, JUST WRIGHT on 1800 screens, yet another sappy Amanda Seyfried teen romance, LETTERS TO JULIET on 2800 screens, and ROBIN HOOD himself reunites Russell Crowe with Ridley Scott on 3400 screens.  Will the sword be mighty enough to dethrone the Iron Man?  Find out next week!

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO

IRON MAN 2

Written by Justin Theroux

Directed by Jon Favreau

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Dona Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke

Ivan Vanko: If you could make God bleed, people would cease to believe in him.

When the lights went down at the sold out opening night screening of IRON MAN 2 that I attended, there was a particular energy in the air.  It was that moment when you realize that what you’ve been waiting for for so long is really about to take place.  The hushed anticipation was infectious and, as exciting as it was to feel it build, it was just as disappointing to feel that energy die off as the film unfolded.  Iron Man may have a brand new suit but his heavier armour ultimately just weighed this new adventure down.

I had no knowledge of Iron Man before the first film, other than the fact that he existed anyway.  When director Jon Favreau introduced him as an irresponsible billionaire who learns that his legacy would be essentially ensuring continuous and unnecessary destruction until there was nothing left to blow up, I instantly loved the guy.  Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), as privileged as he was, was still human and still had a soul that he didn’t want to see damned.  Super ego still intact but changed nonetheless at the end of the first film, Stark re-emerges now as narcissistic and oblivious again, almost as if to satisfy what test audiences liked most about him after the first film.  It gives the film itself an air of arrogance that it is difficult to recover from.  The Iron Man people know they did good last time out and like Tony Stark, it seems to have gone to their heads a bit too much.

Justin Theroux, the writer of TROPIC THUNDER, is a new addition to the Iron Man team and, despite his clear ability to be laugh out loud funny, he takes Iron Man and Tony Stark to some pretty dark places.  There is nothing wrong with going to these places in a superhero movie but with Stark coming off more smug and callous from the beginning, there isn’t as much sympathy to go around when Theroux finally reveals why Stark is acting this way.  Downey Jr. still nails Stark but despite having some serious mortality issues to deal with this time, he never seems to get to the core of where Stark is coming from.  And, correct me if I’m wrong, but Iron Man is nothing without his core. 

Other newcomers to the Iron Man world include Mickey Rourke as a sinister Russian physicist bent on revenge, Sam Rockwell as a less successful version of Stark himself, Scarlett Johansson as a sultry new member of Stark’s team and Don Cheadle as a replacement for Terrence Howard in the Rhodey role, Stark’s best buddy.  Rourke is certainly scary but he seems to be trying too hard to redefine evil, much like Heath Ledger did as The Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT.  Rockwell is hilarious and stylin’ in the three-piece suits he wears to cover up his inferiority issues.  Meanwhile, Cheadle does nothing with the opportunity that fell in his lap and I would really like to see Johansson do something other than just look sultry for a change.

IRON MAN 2 does get better as it goes on.  I don’t want to make it sound like it’s a bad time.  It’s just easier to focus on what isn’t working when everything worked so well in the past.  Favreau does his best to keep things smooth and fresh; Downey Jr. delivers as expected but ultimately, IRON MAN 2 just isn’t as much fun as the first.  You might say it has an iron deficiency.  You might.

Black Sheep Revisited: IRON MAN

Back in 2008, when Jon Favreau’s IRON MAN kicked the summer blockbuster season into an unexpected incredible start, both critically and financially, I think I can safely say that no one was certain it would actually work. Marvel was stepping out on their own for the first time with a very risky title and with a slew of titles ahead of them, most of which seem to be connected to each other in some way, they are probably feeling a lot better about what to expect from IRON MAN 2 this coming weekend.

Prognosticators are saying IRON MAN 2 should earn somewhere in the vicinity of $150 million over three days. That is about $50 million more than the original did in its first weekend. The major difference between IRON MAN and IRON MAN 2 though is that, while people just wanted big and were surprised by what they got last time, this time out, people have expectations for IRON MAN 2. The question is not whether people will go but rather whether they will like it as much as the first and keep coming back for more.

When I originally reviewed the film, I gave it four stars and enjoyed it thoroughly. I watched the film for the third time this past weekend and I thought it might be fun to go back and see if my opinion now has changed with time and subsequent viewings. Here’s what I said then:

“What is Iron Man anyway? Can we really call him a superhero? As far as I can tell, he’s just a guy with a bum heart that happens to be pretty handy in the shop.”

Clearly, I went into this movie with absolutely no research done whatsoever. I go on to say:

“Well, according to this adaptation, he is the superhero for the modern era. He is sarcastic and skeptical but still hopeful and genuine. He is a man who is capable of admitting his failures, not dwelling on them and then fostering a new path for himself. He is the kind of man that is both envied and looked up to. He is building himself a reputation as a superhero that can manage tremendous feats through intelligence and perseverance rather than just brawn and dumb luck. And now, IRON MAN is also a movie that offers perspective on the world around us at the same time as some awesome exhilaration.”

Two years later, IRON MAN holds up because Robert Downey Jr., as Tony Stark, is so darn comfortable in that role. The character fits his personality as well as the flashy iron suit fit his then newly buffed body. Downey Jr. makes Stark relatable and likable, not always easy feats when the protagonist starts out as a billionaire playboy. I was essentially of the same mind then as I am now.

“With IRON MAN, it looks like Downey Jr. might finally be able to wipe his past clean and achieve the heights his talent has always warranted. Though his body is in noticeably better shape, it is his quick-witted delivery and cynical yet sympathetic duality that make Tony Stark the kind of guy everyone wants to hang out with or just plain be.”

Like I said, there is no way IRON MAN 2 won’t make more than the first instalment but if the people at Marvel want the party to continue on for future sequels, they had better hope audiences still want to hang out with Stark

For Black Sheep's full review of IRON MAN, just any of the six links in this one article.  Black Sheep's review of IRON MAN 2 will be coming on Saturday.

Black Sheep's Blu-Tuesday

Unfortunately, the site I usually reference for BD sales for the week prior has not posted the information as of yet so I can't tell you how well AVATAR continued to do.  Suffice it to say, I'm sure it did just fine.  No matter because there are plenty of releases coming today so we should just get straight to that.  Not surprisingly, they all would make great gifts for Mom.

NINE

This Rob Marshall musical was somewhat of a disappointment for critics expecting a CHICAGO repeat and an even bigger financial disappointment.  Now it hopes to find new life on BD.  The disc features a bunch of featurettes about the cast, the direction, the choreography.  There are some music videos included but no biggies like feature commentary.  They couldn't get all those women in a room together to tear Daniel Day-Lewis apart?  NINE is certainly flawed; it is hard to sympathize with a misogynist after all and even harder to get close to a character who has no concept of being close to anyone but himself.  Still, NINE overflows with talent and has a lot to offer any musical fan.

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO

I have yet to see this Warner Bros. classic.  I am actually waiting for my copy from the good folks at Warner so I cannot let you know how good this transfer is.  I can tell you that this is the first time this title has appeared on BD and it comes in one of those gorgeous WB commemorative BD books.  Perhaps with Mother's Day right around the corner, you might want to pick this one up for her because she probably doesn't even know it's available.  Mind you, does your mother have a BD player?  Anyway, the new release features a bunch of previously released featurettes as well as a brand new documentary about the film itself.  I will let you know if I liked it later.

DIRTY DANCING

I can't believe it's been over 20 years since this classic romance was sweeping the female nation, inspiring not one but two soundtrack albums, a national dance tour and a sexy dance craze that got housewives all over the world signing up for lessons with their local sexy instructor.  The newly remastered film features new interviews and never before seen footage, as well as a tribute to the late Patrick Swayze.  This could also make Mom very happy or with the right amount of wine, it could probably make for a great nostalgic girls night.

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK

First timers on BD this week include SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, the Best Picture that never really was, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks.  THE NOTEBOOK, one of the most cherished weepers out there, starring Rachel McAdams and my man, Ryan Gosling, makes its BD debut.  As for first run features finding their way home for the first time, the pickings are a little slim.  LEAP YEAR stars Amy Adams and the delicious Matthew Goode and follows her as she tries to find her fiance to propose to him cuz it's allowed on leap day apparently.  Francis Ford Coppola tried to go indie with TETRO, starring Vincent Gallo, but apparently failed miserably.  Sample at your own risk.  Still, I would sooner see that than see The Rock in TOOTH FAIRY.  The Rock as a tooth fairy?  I would sooner throw my teeth out and forego the cash than have him come visit me while I sleep.

Sources: Blu-Ray.com, DVD Active

Black Sheep @ The Box Office

Reviews were certainly not favourable so it looked like, going into the weekend, that the remake of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET might only be successful in its dreams.  It finished the weekend with a solid $32 million start but that's a good $8 million less than the recent FRIDAY THE 13TH remake did on its opening weekend.  From what I see in my Facebook feed, even fans aren't enjoying this one so expect a sizable plummet next weekend.  Meanwhile, and I must commend you guys on this one, Brendan Fraser's incredibly insipid looking, FURRY VENGEANCE, found absolutely no love from audiences. Crafty critters that talk and dopey but lovable Brendan Fraser in the same movie? I expected big numbers on this one.  Usually, when I think a movie looks so stupid that no one could possibly be into it, it blows up at the box office so this was a pleasant surprise.  

Reasonable declines for the rest of the Top 10, except KICK-ASS, which really didn't live up its title in the least, and OCEANS, both of which dropped off over 50% when word of mouth should have done the opposite. Below the Top 10, Foreign Language Oscar winner, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, continues to expand successfully, pulling in another $8.1K per screen average on 45 screens.  Michael Caine stars as HARRY BROWN - positive reviews propelled that one to $9.1K per screen on just 19 screens.  The big art house news of the week is about Nicolo Holofcener's PLEASE GIVE.  Starring Catherine Keener, this indie favorite scored a $25K per screen average on just 5 screens.  People definitely heeded the title and gave.

NEXT WEEK: IRON MAN 2 will obliterate all competition and kick off the 2010 summer season on 4000 screens.  And by the competition, I mean it will obliterate BABIES.  That's right.  Iron Man will kill babies next weekend.  Iron Man: Babies Killer.  ;)

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO

Black Sheep previews Summer 2010!

It isn't technically summer yet in most of the world but the season of sizzle gets its usual early head start out in Hollywood next week with the release of IRON MAN 2.  Two years ago, the first IRON MAN installment surprised Hollywood and audiences alike when it surpassed both financial and creative expectations, subsequently kicking off summer good and proper.  The hopes are that the sequel will do it up right again this year and in a matter of days, we will see what tone it sets for the next four months.  The opening weekend is just the beginning though.  Summertime means one big movie after the next and if you don't get in and make your money right upfront, you disappear from existence.  Even if you do grab a good haul at the start, you can still disappear the next weekend when another highly anticipated sequel hits theatres.  No, my friends, to make it in the summer, you've got to stand out.  You don't necessarily have to be any good but you've got to get people talking.

Let's start that conversation right here, shall we?  There are roughly 100 movies being released in North American theatres over the next four months.  We're going to look at the handful of those that caught my attention and intend to review during that time.  The total amounts to about a quarter of the films, or about six reviews a month.  (I'm only one man!) I'll throw out mentions for the other biggies that I might still see and let you know what I will definitely not be seeing ... summer also has plenty of garbage too, which tends to stink even worse in the heat.  Still, I love me a summer gem and the cool air conditioning on a humid afternoon.  The summer means lots of things to lots of people and it means movies to me.

With that, I'd like to welcome you to Black Sheep Reviews' 2010 Summer Movie Preview!

MAY

05/07 ... The aforementioned IRON MAN 2 rolls out the proverbial beach towel into 4000 theatres next week, finding billionaire Tony Stark (everyone's favourite comeback kid, Robert Downey Jr.) and director Jon Favreau tackling an original idea rather than following the comic book canon. Expectations are high this time when they weren't at all last time. Iron Man presents well but can he sustain?  Also on the seventh, Hot Doc festival leftovers, BABIES and CASINO JACK AND THE UNITED STATES OF MONEY, from Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker, Alex Gibney, reach out to those uninterested in popcorn fare.

05/14 ... I'm not accustomed to losing interest in summer quite so quickly but another Amanda Seyfried weepy romance (LETTERS TO JULIET) does not interest me.  Ridley Scott's grandiose and serious take on ROBIN HOOD doesn't interest me that much either but I've got to see something that week.  I wonder if Scott and star Russell Crowe see how obvious it is that they are trying to recapture their GLADIATOR days.  Actually, the film I am looking forward to seeing this weekend is Montreal director, Jacob Tierney's second feature, THE TROTSKY, starring Jay Baruchel.  I loved Tierney's first feature, TWIST, and can't wait to see how he's grown since that was released in 2003.

05/21 ... I have not been interested in seeing a "Saturday Night Live" inspired film in ages but MACGRUBER, the Will Forte led spoof on "MacGyver" got great buzz at the SXSW festival earlier this year and actually looks pretty funny.  SHREK FOREVER AFTER will clearly dominate this weekend but I never made it past the second Shrek film so I won't be catching this one most likely.  I don't want to be lost.

05/28 ... This day confuses me.  I love "Sex and the City" and I love Jake Gyllenhaal.  That said, I almost hated the last SATC movie and I don't like my men with long hair so my enthusiasm for SEX AND THE CITY 2 and PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME is nowhere near as high as it could have been.  Regardless, I won't try to suppress my baser urges.  After all, the girls are going to ride camels and Jake is not going to be wearing a shirt for much of the film, I'm sure.

JUNE

06/04 ... I'm just going to say it.  This summer is nowhere near as exciting as last summer.  If the best thing to see on the first weekend of June is GET HIM TO THE GREEK, starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill, from the director of FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, then we've got a problem.  I'm sure it will be funny but will be as funny as seeing Sarah Polley in a big Hollywood horror about cloning gone horrifically wrong?  (The movie is called SPLICE.)

06/11 ... I watched THE A-TEAM when I was younger but it's not like I've been dying a little inside each day since it was cancelled.  The new remake has a great cast (Sharlto Copley from last year's DISTRICT 9 and Bradley Cooper from last year's everything) so I will give a shot.  On the other end of the spectrum, French export, COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY tells the tale of the relationship between two cultural revolutionaries.  I think I am going to pass on THE KARATE KID remake, if you don't mind.  I'd also sooner avoid the feature length documentary, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK ... even though the title is kinda funny.

06/18 ... I could barely get through the trailer for JONAH HEX but god knows that summer agrees with Megan Fox so it will probably do well despite my disdain for it.  No matter, I will be front and center for TOY STORY 3.  Sure it is an unnecessary sequel from the Pixar peeps but with the Academy Award winning writer of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, Michael Arndt, penning the screenplay and the co-director of FINDING NEMO and MONSTERS INC, Lee Unkrich, behind the lens, I'm sure the toys will triumph once again.

06/25 ... There had better be some limited art house release opening in Toronto this weekend because I do not want to have to see or review either the Tom Cruise / Cameron Diaz action-comedy / career desperation project, KNIGHT AND DAY, or GROWN-UPS, which brings together Chris Rock, Kevin James, Adam Sandler and more to do very much the same thing Cruise and Diaz are doing.  Here's hoping Alain Resnais' WILD GRASS finds its way here that weekend, for my sake.

06/30 ... Oh here's a big one.  THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE makes its first summer appearance.  I just watched the trailer for this one this morning and I could not contain my laughter.  I gave the first one a chance and didn't think it was that bad but I named NEW MOON one of the worst pictures of last year.  When Edward asked Bella to marry him right before the credits rolled (oh sorry, spoiler alert after the fact if you hadn't seen it already), I threw up a little in my mouth and decided right there and then to never see another one of these disasters.  Go ahead and swoon ladies ... these boys are all yours.

July

07/02 ... Originally entitled, "Avatar", M. Night Shyamalan's THE LAST AIRBENDER had to change its name after that other AVATAR movie came along, devouring everything in its environmentally-friendly path.  Appropriately, it should capture much of the same crowd as the special effects look top notch.  Like most of Shyamalan's other work though, the acting and dialogue look so bad that they may actually drag the whole thing down with them.  And while I knew nothing of this film before seeing THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, I am now very stoked to see THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, the next in the Swedish film series.

07/07 ... It is a Wednesday bow for indie favourite, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, starring Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as life partners, raising children who now want the goods on their biological father.  The anonymous sperm donor daddy? Mark Rufallo.  This is one of the titles I am most excited about this summer.  It figures it's one of the tinier ones.

07/16 ... Ah, Christopher Nolan.  I have mad respect for this man.  He may not always please everyone or achieve perfection but his direction is always concise and unflinching.  His vision is unique and his potential has yet to be tapped.  His latest and follow up to the phenomenon that was THE DARK KNIGHT, entitled INCEPTION, is a movie about dreams, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  July is definitely the month to beat for me with these last two pictures.

07/23 ... On the comedic front, Steve Carell and Paul Rudd reteam for DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS, a remake of the French film, DINER DES CONS, where one man has to bring the stupidest person he knows to dinner for a proper mocking in order to get a promotion.  It promises to be a lot friendlier than the 1998 French film and it will be great to see these two guys on equal footing for a change.  Then on the action side of the coin, you've got Angelina Jolie as an international spy on the run in a role that was originally given to Tom Cruise in SALT.  My track record with Philip Noyce directed films isn't great though so this could go either way for me.  Anyone remember the last time these two worked together?  (Answer: THE BONE COLLECTOR.)

07/30 ... I am thrilled to see that Quebec film, and a 2009 Mouton d'Or Award nominee for Best Little Movie, I KILLED MY MOTHER, is getting an American distribution deal.  The film has done incredibly well here in Canada and deservedly so.  Writer/Director/Star, Xavier Dolan, tells the semi-autobiographical story of the difficulties he had growing up as a young gay man with his mother.  It is a raw and rough experience but still somehow healing and beautiful.  At the young age of 21, Dolan is exploding with his second film at Cannes this year and his third already in preproduction.  I am also hoping that I LOVE YOU PHILIP MORRIS, starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, finally sees its release on this tentative date.

August

08/06 ... It made its debut at last year's Toronto International Film Festival and now Bruce Beresford's MAO'S LAST DANCER is finally hitting theatres.  It tells the true story of Li Cunxin, a Chinese ballet performer who has performed around the world, and it just looks gorgeous.  The dancing is sure to impress.  Of course, I'm sure more people will opt to see that other dance movie, STEP UP 3D, instead that weekend.  3D dance movies?  The world needs this?  Really?

08/13 ... August usually slows down the pace and Julia Roberts will try to continue the trend with the film adaptation of EAT PRAY LOVE.  The man behind "Glee" and "Nip/Tuck", Ryan Murphy, directs this true story about a woman who tries to recapture the spirit she didn't know she had lost.  Schmaltzy for sure but it could be acceptable schmaltz.  More importantly though, Edgar Wright, the man behind HOT FUZZ and SHAUN OF THE DEAD, returns with his latest, SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD.  The film stars Michael Cera as a musician who has to defeat each of his girlfriend's seven evil ex-boyfriends in order to be with her.  That's freaking hilarious!

08/20 ... I don't know why I am such a sucker for Jennifer Aniston movies.  The woman rarely makes good movies but yet  I keep coming back.  In THE SWITCH, she stars opposite Jason Batemen (a potential saving grace in this film).  Bateman drunkenly switches the sperm she was going to use to inseminate herself without telling her and, well, you can figure where the rest is going.  Still, the trailer actually looks kinda cute.

08/27 ... The truth of it is I will likely be prepping for TIFF and the fall at this point in the summer but if I need to escape, I can always see PIRANHA 3D.  That's right.  You read correctly.  A tectonic plate shift causes a crack in a party town lake and releases tons of 2000-year-old killer piranhas.  And not only are they hungry but they are in 3D!!

So there you have it, folks.  This is what awaits you during the long days of summer.  What do you think?  Is it worth going inside for?

Black Sheep previews Hot Docs 2010

While Black Sheep is not going to be covering the 2010 Toronto Hot Docs film festival directly, it is still our great pleasure to preview some of the titles that will be featured this year.  Founded in 1993, the Hot Docs festival is committed to presenting over 150 of the best documentaries floating around the festival circuit.  This year is no exception as the festival showcases docs from directors as famous as Steven Soderbergh and Alex Gibney, as well as giving voice to local filmmakers and marginalized filmmakers the world over.  As is true with the documentary approach itself, Hot Docs is interested in the truth in its purest form and that is what you will get.

Even though I cannot attend the festival as much as I’d like to, the festival organizers were kind enough to send me a bunch of screeners to help you weed through what may or may not be great in this year’s 11-day festival schedule.  And so begins Black Sheep’s Hot Docs 2010 Preview …

BABIES
Directed by Thomas Balmes
Screenings: Thursday, April 29, 6:30 PM, Wintergarden Theatre
Friday, April 30, 1:45 PM, Isabel Bader Theatre

It is no fun to start off a preview with an unfavourable review for the opening film, especially when that film is about the world’s most precious resource, babies.  The trailer for this BABIES, which has a theatrical run scheduled for May 7, is adorable.  I found the film itself insufferable though, which might mean I have no soul.  I realize what a monster that makes me sound like but I’m really not.  I just don’t see the point in following around four newborns in four very different locations throughout the world when, if I want to see a baby just being cute, I can visit any number of my friends.  It's like watching BARAKA with babies, except nowhere near as striking and nowhere near as effective.  It’s just kids being kids with no outside explanation as to why we’re watching.  After about ten minutes, these babies get pretty tired and you remember fairly quickly why you stopped babysitting years ago.  It did give me concern though; if I couldn’t handle these babies for an hour and twenty minutes, how am I going to handle my own at some point?

I SHOT MY LOVE
Directed by Tomer Heymann
Screenings: Tuesday, May 4, 7:30 PM, The Royal Cinema
Thursday, May 6, 4:15 PM, Cumberland

Tomer Heymann found some great appreciation after his last documentary, PAPER DOLLS, about a group of Filipino transvestites who emigrate to Israel to take care of old Jewish men, was honoured at the Berlin International Film Festival, picking up both audience and jury prizes alike.  For his follow up project, Heymann decided to turn the camera on himself or, more accurately, on those that he loves.  He meets Andreas Merk, a German dancer one night while he is in Berlin for the festival and they fall in love.  He spends the next while filming that process by keeping the camera on his boyfriend and asking him leading questions that are clearly meant to spark a big debate about how complicated their relationship should be considering he’s Jewish and Andreas is German.  Thankfully, Andreas is cute and fun to watch but I SHOT MY LOVE rarely feels genuine, which means the love he supposedly shot rarely comes through.

LIFE WITH MURDER
Directed by John Kastner
Screenings: Saturday, May 1, 9:45 PM, Isabel Bader Theatre
Sunday, May 9, 3:45 PM, Bloor Cinema

Of all the screeners I was sent for this festival, this was the one I put off to the end.  It was the longest, first of all, which makes me sound incredibly lazy but hey.  It was also the most potentially depressing of the bunch.  LIFE WITH MURDER tells the story of a Chatham, Ontario family torn apart by a chilling tragedy.  Mom and Dad come home to find their daughter murdered and their son missing.  Soon enough, it becomes clear that their son may have killed their daughter.  He is arrested, tried and convicted of the murder but yet his parents never leave his side.  This film forces you to think hard about family and forgiveness but never lets you ignore the possibility of misplaced trust and the dangers of blind faith.  Having been too young to remember this case in the news, watching the details be revealed in this film horrified me.  It is not an easy experience but still a brilliant one. 

MARK
Directed by Mike Hoolboom
Screenings: Saturday, May 1, 9:45 PM, The Royal Cinema
Sunday, May 9, 9:30 PM, Isabel Bader Theatre

I’m new to Toronto but I imagine that there will be a strong amount of local interest in MARK, a sensitive and touching portrait of now deceased activist, Mark Karbusicky.  Without any previous knowledge of who Mark was, it is pretty easy to understand why people loved him – and love him they did.  By piecing together childhood photographs, found footage and interviews with friends and loved ones, director, Mike Hoolboom, is able to create a palpable sense of who Mark was and what he valued.  I can’t be certain whether it was Hoolboom’s intention to leave the details of why Mark killed himself vague but the result is that we spend more time focusing on his life than his death, which is more honourable anyway.  MARK presents a handful of very real people with very real emotions that stay with you and make you wish you had been lucky enough to know Mark too.

THE “SOCALLED” MOVIE
Directed by Garry Beitel
Screenings: Sunday, May 2, 9:15, Bloor Cinema
Tuesday, May 4, 11:30 AM, ROM Theatre

This one is particularly difficult to describe.  I lived in Montreal my whole life and I never heard of this guy.  After seeing Garry Beitel’s NFB production, THE “SOCALLED MOVIE”, I wish I had heard of him a long time ago.  The guy I’m talking about is a man by the name of Josh Dolgin, who goes by the moniker, “Socalled”.  Dolgin is 32, gay and Jewish, and he spends his days as either a hip-hop artist, a filmmaker or a magician.  The music he creates is a blend of funk, hip-hop and klesmer music and he brings it to people everywhere who want to transcend the cultural limitations of the music while still appreciating the history these cultures bring.  He is pretty direct about how he is more a behind the scenes guy than anything else but it is his undeniable genius and incredible drive that propel him inevitably to the forefront of everything he does.  And why does he do it?  Simply put, because he can.  We should all try because we can is how he sees it.  And speaking of seeing it, you all should definitely see THE “SOCALLED MOVIE”.

SOUNDTRACKER
Directed by Nicolas Sherman
Screenings: Sunday, May 2, 6:45, ROM Theatre
Tuesday, May 4, 4:30 PM, Cumberland
Sunday, May 9, 4:00, Innis Town Hall

Gordon Hempton needs you to be very quiet.  He has unheard wonders of beauty just waiting to share with you but you first need to learn how to actually hear them.  Don’t be concerned that you may not be able to.  Even Hempton himself didn’t learn to hear properly until he was 27.  It’s not that he had any hearing disabilities; no, it was rather an inability to be still and truly just listen.  SOUNDTRACKER, tracks Hempton, a professional nature sound recordist, on one of his sound journeys.  Director, Nicolas Sherman faced the difficult task of making a movie about sound.  He needed to allow the time for the audience to take in all the layers of Hempton’s discovered soundscapes without sacrificing the image or his own artistic expression.  And just like the delicate balance between the song of a bird and a passing whistle-blowing train – the symphony we follow Hempton in hopes to find – Sherman finds the perfect sweet spot.

Well, that's all I have, preview-wise, that is.  Before I go though, I would like to mention that the National Film Board of Canada has decided to make their collection of over 5500 films completely available for free to screen at the NFB Mediatheque, as of May 1.  This great offer applies to both the Toronto and Montreal locations and should be taken advantage of as often as possible.  The timing could not be better for tourists in Toronto for Hot Docs so don't miss out.  The NFB Mediatheque in Toronto is located at 150 John Street, just near the Scotiabank Theatre.

Enjoy Hot Docs everybody!
For tickets, just click the Hot Docs link.