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You can accuse me of being overly sensitive about this....oh wait, you can't! One of the things it's almost impossible to be too sensitive about is fucking HITLER, so when I saw the image on Hollywood Elsewhere yesterday, I just about crapped my Lederhosen. WTF is Jeffrey thinking? Just a guess, but the two groups of people likely to be really offended by being mocked up as der Führer are Jews and Germans.

Even if Werner is somehow not offended by the image, I still call Douchebag on this post and I'll be offended on his behalf.

UPDATE: I just received an email from Paul Cronin, the editor of Herzog on Herzog that reads, in part:

"Werner once told me that he would never live through another era of Nazism, because he would die fighting it."

So yeah, I think Werner would be offended by Jeff's post.

So dig it, y'all.... I've frequently referred to indieWIRE as a baby of whom I no longer have custody. Well, turns out someone bought my baby. SnagFilms. Dig it: SnagFilms Acquires indieWIRE

And as a part of that, here's my new blog, Docsider!

I CAN READZ DOC BLOGZ?

Fucking. Brilliant.

How's that for a short review? I've got a lot more to say, but this entry will have to be rather short, because well, it's almost 3am and I have a lot to do tomorrow. But don't worry. I'll be back with much more before the film opens.

To wit, the film is a masterpiece. Nothing more and nothing less. To those of you who usually rely on the similarly-named yet qualitatively different publications The New Yorker and New York Magazine, please don't. Messers Edelstein and Denby simply don't get it, a state which I would be glad to explore in detail in my next Dark Knight-related post.

Just a few notes now, before I crash:

Heath Ledger is brilliant and this film will make it all the more evident that his death was a massive loss to film.

The film is dark and violent, as it should be. There was an infant in a stroller at the screening I attended. Well, if they sleep, that's fine, but if your 6-10 year-old asks to see it, you might want to see it first, just to make sure.

See it in an IMAX theater. Christopher Nolan is the first director to use IMAX cameras to shoot scenes for a traditional release. Trust me when I tell you, the IMAX presentation will knock your socks off and it's worth waiting a few days, as most, if not all IMAX screenings are sold out for opening day. (Psssst: a little secret....in IMAX theaters, the farther back you sit, the better!).

I realize I haven't justified any of my superlatives, but I will, I promise.

Ok....more later. Must. Sleep.

I am hosting this month's edition of Speakeasy Cinema and y'all should come and join us! While I am forbidden from revealing the name of the film, from the hints below and if you know me, you might, just might, be able to guess.

So here's the info:

Monday, June 16, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: 279 Church Street, New York City - 3 blocks below Canal St- across from the Tribeca Grand

SPEAKEASY CINEMA provides an opportunity for the film community to watch movies and talk about them a la the Algonquin Roundtable. No one will know which film it is until the lights dim.

Be forewarned: I have chosen a film that fulfills one of the very important roles that Speakeasy Cinema can play: This classic is also a drinking game, and we'll be bringing extra alcohol so anyone who gets one can take a shot anytime the rules of the game demand it.

After the screening we chat about the film, movies in general and there's more drinking. NB: At this intimate event industry talk is verboten, but your libations are welcome (read: BYOB or wine and we will have the corkscrew).

You should bring: beer, whisky, and red wine.

And if you leave standing, you never arrived.

These are some pretty serious hints, but don't wrack your brains too hard. It's a nice, fun and brilliant surprise!

Admission is $5

My Winnipeg (IFC Films, IFC Center and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York City)
Dir. Guy Maddin, Written by Guy Maddin and George Toles

Much like offal or the music of Philip Glass, the films of Guy Maddin are an acquired taste. Unlike the first two items on my list, I adore the films of this native son of Winnipeg, Manitoba. I first encountered his works at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2003 when both Dracula: Pages From A Virgin's Diary and Cowards Bend the Knee were screened. The latter was originally screened as a series of peephole vignettes which, interestingly, one had to bend one's knees, to see. But I digress....

My Winnipeg is a docu-drama cum dreamscape begat nightmare of a vision about a place that is clearly as much a part of Maddin's being as is his skin, brain or limbic system. What I mean to say is, Maddin is Winnpeg and vice versa. That said, I have no idea if the Winnipeg in the film resembles the "real" Winnipeg at all. What is clear, however, is that it's Maddin's Winnipeg, and that's all that matters. The filmmaker's trademark style is in full effect and the tale he weaves about the history of Winnipeg (did dozens of horses really flee a fire in the 1920's only to freeze to death in the river, becoming props for the weekend skaters?) is as engrossing as is is at times ridiculous. That said, you really do leave the film wondering if it's just possible that the city has a law requiring citizens to allow former occupants of their homes to knock on their door and spend one night (while sleepwalking, natch).

Orange Jell-O, naked Russian ice hockey stars, a weekly TV drama about a jumper called "Ledge Man" and rooftop homeless communities all make appearances in Maddin's vision of his beloved hometown and while the film is full of trademark-Maddin humorous moments and Winnipeg clearly means a lot to him, it's sort of like the fantastic, quasi-nightmarish version of a city that a child might create, albeit one you might want to take to a therapist. That said, it's gorgeously photographed in typical Maddin style, great fun and a loving homage to a city most of us know nothing about. While I might not want to live there myself (far too cold for me, for starters) it's a fantastic place to visit for 80 minutes and Guy Maddin is a great host.

Photo: The Hollies Snowshoe club visit the frozen horse heads.
Photo credit: Jody Shapiro, © Everyday Pictures Inc.

In response to my good friend AJ's reaction to some of the criticism leveled at the Sex and the City movie, I left some of the following as a comment on his blog, but as they do in Congress, I would like to revise and extend my remarks, to wit:

I understood Karina's tongue-in-cheekness when I read her post and I'd like to point out that in my post I was actually angry about what I perceive as the film's anti-woman aspects (well, I can't say the film exactly because I haven't seen it, but I do know the show). You even quoted my point for me, AJ. I think the franchise is anti-woman and offers if not a completely unrealistic portrayal of "life in the big city," than an unbelievably shallow one.

I completely disagree with Kim Voynar's POV (mentioned in AJ's post) but that's fine. Plenty of people have strong, differing opinions on issues, films, books, etc but to dismiss the male film critics who are criticizing the film in toto because we wouldn't understand a movie that's not about us? Talk about a hypocritical generalization.

When she writes: "SatC has never been about fashion or a credit card lifestyle if you look beneath its surface. It's about a group of smart, independent women who, successful as they are, still struggle with figuring out love and relationships and how to have and maintain a relationship with a man without losing who you are as an intelligent woman with a career and life of your own."

Ah, if it were only so.

Karina Longworth has already done your work for you. No need to read the reviews of Sex and the City. Karina's fallen on the grenade for all of us and you can read her excellent post, here: 5 Ways to Dismiss The Sex and the City Movie.

Personally, I never had even a nanosecond's thought of seeing this culturally, politically, emotionally and cinematically bereft film. Save yourself the pain and re-watch season one of BSG or a Tracy-Hepburn movie. At least you'll be getting a full dose of strong, well-rounded and developed female characters and not four nauseating ersatz women.

This post over at Valerie and Her Week of Wonders reminded me about my "best of" post for 2007 and how The Counterfeiters was a film I saw in '07 but was likely to make my 2008 list. Well, here it is, 5 months in and Stefan Ruzowitzky's film is still firmly in my 2008 top ten. Then again, there are likely a hundred or more films for me to see in the next 7 months, so who knows?

What I know so far is that it's not only an exceptional little gem of a film, it's one that's, gasp!, doing well at the box office. According to Box Office Mojo, the film has grossed $5,039,883, as of last weekend, placing it 52nd all time for foreign-language releases, a ranking that's sure to improve, as the film is still doing relatively well at the box office. The guys at Sony Pictures Classics certainly know how to release a foreign-language film.

As for the film, it's a subtle drama and morality play set amidst the horrors of the holocaust and it paints its characters in shades of gray, a particularly difficult and risky thing to attempt when dealing with this subject matter.

If you haven't seen this film, I urge you to hit your local arthouse or multiplex, like say, this one in Anchorage, Alaska and see this excellence in film making.

For sure there can be no doubt that the time is now for the sequel promised in the following credit sequence, can there?

I mean, it's already been tributed:

A few pix from the 2007 Denver Film Festival. I know, I know...6 months late. But at least I'm getting to them and they ain't just rotting on my hard drive! See the rest here!

Late Night Lounge honcho Alex Reshetniak and filmmaker Doug Prey (Scratch, Surfwise, Hype!):

indieWIRE's Brian Brooks, filmmaker AJ Schnack (Kurt Cobain: About a Son) and Denver Director of Festivals Britta Erickson.:

Who knew True/False's David Wilson could hula hoop? And with a drink in hand, no less!

I was a bit disappointed that I didn't make it to more of the New Director's/New Films series which ended its 37th season on April 6th and all three of the films I saw were all worthy of distribution. They include Trouble The Water, a Katrina documentary co-directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal; XXY, Argentine director Lucía Puenzo's narrative film about a couple's struggle raising their hermaphrodite teenager; and Slingshot Hip Hop, a documentary about the Palestinian rap music scene in Israel, directed by newcomer Jackie Reem Salloum.

Trouble the Water
Directors: Tia Lessin, Carl Deal
Executive Producers: Danny Glover, Joslyn Barnes, Todd Olson, David Alcaro
Producers: Tia Lessin, Carl Deal
Cinematography: PJ Raval, Nadia Hallgren, Kimberly Roberts
Editor: T. Woody Richman (additional editing by Mary Lampson)
Music: Davidge/Del Naja, Black Kold Madina
U.S., 2007, 94 minutes

Trouble the Water is simply the best Katrina documentary I've seen to date. No disrespect to Spike Lee (When The Levees Broke) or the other noble works that have come out since the disaster (Axe in the Attic and Katrina Diary to name just two) but this movie hits every note just right. Lessin and Deal went down to New Orleans just five days after Katrina hit with no clear idea of what they were going to find. To their good fortune -and ours-- they happened to meet Kimberly Roberts and her husband, Scott, a recently homeless couple at the Superdome. Prior to Katrina, the two had been living a very difficult existence in the impoverished Ninth Ward by selling drugs, something they touch upon in a one of the film's more moving moments. The disaster, as tragic as it was, ended up affording them the opportunity to learn more about themselves than they would have otherwise; one lesson being that they were living miserable lives and were grateful to make a change.

Adding to that life-changing revelation is the fact that Kimberly, who had gotten hold of a video camera not long before the hurricane hit, ended up filming portions of her experience. Those clips, are both horrific and funny and much of it ended up incorporated into Trouble the Water. Hearing Kimberly's remarks over her often manic camera work is another of the film's amazing aspects. Her anxiety is palpable as the water rises inch by inch, engulfing their home. Though her regional dialect is at times hard to understand, the spiritual change she goes through over the ensuing days and weeks is very clear. As she and Scott confront the enormity of their situation, rather than lie down and give up, they rise above their circumstances.

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Movie: 6 stars out of 5. Brilliant
DVD Quality: Flawless
Sound: Be prepared for huge transitions from silence to bursts of sound, but then again, you've seen the film, right?
Extras: 50/50.

While it's no secret that Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood was among my favorite films of 2007 and repeat viewings don't change that opinion. Paul Thomas Anderson has turned in a wide screen epic masterpiece for the new century. TWBB and Andrew Dominick's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (you just KNEW I was going to work that one in here, didn't you?) are a magnificent 1-2 punch for 2007 which was overall, one of the strongest years in recent memory, IMHO.

As for the DVD, the transfer is gorgeous. Needless to say, the film is presented in widescreen, enhanced for 16x9 TVs and on my 50" Sony, it looks gorgeous. The 5.1 sound is great, with Johnny Greenwood's stark and painfully appropriate score ringing through as clear as a bell.

On opening night, after the Texas Film Hall of Fame soiree, we headed back downtown for the SXSW Film Festival's opening night party at Buffalo Billiards. It's always a great night regardless of where it's help because like the opening of any other event where everyone's psyched to be there. Like the first night at summer camp, only with lots of booze.

See if you can spot the indieWIRE and SXSW staffers in this pic:

It's a great place to meet up with old friends as well as meet new ones, the ones you're going to be seeing at parties and screenings over the next 5 days. One of the films I really wanted to see but missed do to the influenza was Bi the Way, by Brittany Blockman and Josephine Decker, the latter of which I met at the party, along with her mom who was in town to support the film (and her daughter, natch). Maybe if I'm nice, they'll sent me a screener!

After Buffalo Billiards it was off to the PureVolume Ranch, one of the many non-official week-long parties that turn downtown Austin into an artistic, booze-addled pub crawl. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

More from opening night after the jump....

I think I need more sleep.