Discland
edited by Jonathan Doyle
Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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Midnight Kiss Guys

I sat down late this afternoon with Alex Holdridge, director-writer of In Search of a Midnight Kiss, and his two stars, Scoot McNairy and Sara Simmonds. Easily the best written, most recognizably "real" younger person's relationship drama I've seen since Richard Linklater's Before Sunset (and probably the most beautifully photographed), it opens in Los Angeles on Friday. I'll relate some of our conversation tomorrow.


In Search of a Midnight Kiss costars Scoot McNairy (l.), Sara Simmonds, director-cowriter Alex Holdridge (r.) at West Hollywood's Le Pain Quotidien -- Wednesday, 8.21, 6:15 pm

Holdridge, McNairy
Gotta Let Me Know<< previous | next >>Road to Claremont

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 20, 2008 at 8:50 PM

comment #1

MilkMan says ...

I look at these people, with their Smart Glasses, and their pensive brows hidden beneath hunting caps, and I think that there is not one thing in the world I want to learn about any of them.

Do they have something that they want to share with me?

Of course they do.

They want to show me what it's like to be single, alone, young and pretty in the big city.

But I don't care anymore.

Because I don't think that kind of thing is romantic.

I think it's silly.

There are so many other stories that are more interesting.

Like what it's like to shop for the right pair of glasses, the kind that automatically raise your perceived IQ twenty to thirty points.

Or how you figure out which hat looks best on your head.

These might be surface issues, but isn't that what's most important anyway?

Because no one wants to see a movie about two old fat people eating dinner at Fromin's deli, or a Korean guy driving two hours to his job in Tustin.

Who wants to look at those people?

They're hideous.

No, let's watch the cute kids do the modern dance.

But I don't want to see them getting to know each other.

I want to see them putting on make-up and fixing their hair.

I bet the girl spends at least a half hour painting her face, so let's see it, like we're living in Romania or something.

Or Austria.

Those Eastern Europeans like to watch.

I mean, they really like to watch.

I look at Scoot and Smart Glasses and the girl and I get the feeling I'm not going to get a lot of Vienna with my movie.

I feel like I'm going to get a lot of Los Feliz with my movie.

A lot of attitude leavened with the frailty of human connection.

No thanks.

The next movie about Los Angeles I see that doesn't have the frailty of human connection as one of its themes will be the first.

This city is an atomizer, doesn't anyone know that yet?

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 2:07 AM

comment #2

Yves says ...

MilkMan-- thanks for expressing exactly how I feel, although I was more indifferent than bitter. I don't like the way they are looking at the camera/Jeff/me in that first picture. They look like assholes. And the trailer for the film looked shitty. Comparing this to Before Sunset is sacrilege coming from a man who considers the theater experience akin to church.

Posted by Yves at August 21, 2008 7:33 AM

comment #3

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Yves, Milkman: Look before you leap, think before you speak, observe before you trash, and all that. This film really is an exception -- a pleasant one -- to the rule of twentysomething relationship dramedies. Up close and personal and sitting in a restaurant, these guys do not look, act, sound or posture themselves like assholes -- they're as straight and everyday average as you guys are, maybe more so. McNairy is shrewd and funny, Holdridge is open and self-exploratory, Simmons is candid and beautiful. And they know their movie history. And as far as it goes, ISOAMK is honest, genuine, unforced, and recognizable-believable. (I have issues with this and that aspect, but we'll let that go for now.) Oh, and they've made one of the most visually alluring black-and-white films in a long, long time. Shot on HD, looks like 35mm.

Posted by gruver1 at August 21, 2008 8:00 AM

comment #4

MickTravis says ...

McNairy has a chic & expensive-looking new phone in front of him, but also holes in his shirt sleeves. That has to be close to the level of wearing flip flops or sandals, right?

Posted by MickTravis at August 21, 2008 8:00 AM

comment #5

MickTravis says ...

Yeah, MilkMan, you shouldn't judge people based on just appearances and other surface impressions (unless they're fat, which means they're stupid). What in the wide wide world of sports are you thinking?

Posted by MickTravis at August 21, 2008 8:04 AM

comment #6

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Mick Travis: Whoa...opened my eyes or what? Let's just love each other and stop the dirty looks and mean remarks. Alcoholic dads working on creating a hellish, self-hating psychology for their kids and family members? Love ya, guys...we all know you have pressures and need to relax with a drink now and then...want that on the rocks or neat? Heroin or cocaine or Oxycontin or prescription-pill addicts living ruinously and self-destructively? You guys are da bomb! Domestic abusers who beat their wives? Don't sweat it, homies! Morbidly obese Jabbas who stuff their faces obsessively every day with the fattiest foods on the planet as a way of bringing on early disease and death, greatly increasing the chance that their kids will be gross lardbuckets also and burdening the health-care system in the bargain? You guys are so cool! Buy an elephant-size box of potato chips at Costco, save on buying smaller individual bags!

Posted by gruver1 at August 21, 2008 8:30 AM

comment #7

MickTravis says ...

Yeah but, seriously, what about those holes in the dude's sleeves? And the butterfly? C'mon.

Posted by MickTravis at August 21, 2008 8:39 AM

comment #8

T. S. Idiot says ...

In the great tradition of Orson Welles on Sonny Tufts:

Scoot McNairy?!

Posted by T. S. Idiot at August 21, 2008 8:41 AM

comment #9

Yves says ...

I'm not buying what they're selling. I guess I'm in the wrong demographic. The reason I said what I did is that I would have to take time out of my day and pay $10 to see this film and give you a true judgment. And by that time, they would have already gotten what they wanted, and I'd still have to write up an angry screed. I'd rather just judge the film superficially. I saw the trailer last week and wasn't impressed. I actually noted this as a film I didn't want to watch. Just like there are people who won't see Beverly Hills Chihuahua because they can judge it from the trailer, I won't miss out by missing this. And they may be the nicest people in the world, but if you don't think they're not mocking you in these pictures, you're blinded by your own ego. If I really want to watch a twentysomething romance, I'll rent Four Eyed Monsters, pretentious and arty as it was, at least they worked for it.

Posted by Yves at August 21, 2008 8:56 AM

comment #10

mutinyco says ...

Nothing to do with the movie.

But in the top photo his eyes are kinda bugging. They look like Michael Jackson's cat eyes at the end of Thriller where one of them is slightly out of whack.

Posted by mutinyco at August 21, 2008 8:57 AM

comment #11

Yves says ...

damn double negatives always get me. -don't

Posted by Yves at August 21, 2008 8:58 AM

comment #12

MickTravis says ...

Another odd note about appearances: Apparently if you buy "Midnight Kiss" through IFC On Demand, it's shown the same way they used to show "Police Squad."

Which is to say: In color.

Cluelessness. And even though I know he had nothing to do with it ... I still find myself blaming Scoot.

Posted by MickTravis at August 21, 2008 9:07 AM

comment #13

NotImpressedYet says ...

I enjoyed and empathized with Milkman's rant about these kids. They do look like rejects from american apparel advertising audition.

At the same time, so what? And for Gruver1 to place this in the same universe as Before Sunset, wow. It's on IFC on demand for $7. I'll be checking it out tonight.

Posted by NotImpressedYet at August 21, 2008 9:12 AM

comment #14

Chapman Carruthers says ...

Scoot's profile actually paints him as a person I want to know, and not, solely, because he looks disinterested in whatever Wells is saying. Strange how the frontal shot gives off such a different vibe (that hat is fucking atrocious).

Posted by Chapman Carruthers at August 21, 2008 9:26 AM

comment #15

MilkMan says ...

Mr. Wells, my grandparents have spent that last 30 years of their lives travelling around the world, and you know what they say everytime I ask them how their vacation was: FINE, BUT THERE WERE TOO MANY FAT PEOPLE.

This is what my grandmother said to me when she got back from Kenya.

Oh, and the real reason I don't want to see this move, why I would rather spend my money seeing Momma's Man, or Man on Wire, or A Girl Cut in Two, is because I just don't like the genre, never have.

Before Sunset made me quiver with rage.

Ditto for Quiet City, which is obviously the avatar for In Search of a Midnight Kiss.

I kind of liked Two Days in Paris, but that was more a Woody Allen movie as written and directed by a beautiful french woman than a 20something city tour.

I've never once had an experience like the ones depicted in these movies, and I don't know anyone who has, which is not to say that these experiences don't happen to other people, because they do, they just happen to models and actors and other trust-fund types with clear skin and nice cheekbones, and these are people I don't really care to know anything about.

The only thing you can learn from people like this is how great it is to be them, to which I say, good for you.

I'm more interested in learning about people who live in the margins, or people who are failures, and the three pictured above look like they know what it's like to live like that about as much as I know what it's like to be young, beautiful and free.

Bitter?

Yeah, so what.

People say that like it's a bad thing, like it disqualifies your thoughts on a certain subject.

But considering that most people are dissatisfied with life, I see it as the baseline, not an aberration.

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 9:37 AM

comment #16

T. S. Idiot says ...

Scoot is uninterested, as in not interested, not disinterested, as in impartial. But he's still Scoot.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at August 21, 2008 9:55 AM

comment #17

Chapman Carruthers says ...

No, I meant disinterested. Thanks for the free grammar lesson, though.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disinterested ("Still, use of senses 1a and 1b will incur the disapproval of some who may not fully appreciate the history of this word or the subtleties of its present use.)

Posted by Chapman Carruthers at August 21, 2008 10:10 AM

comment #18

MickTravis says ...

Ever since I saw "Bugsy," I've never forgotten the difference between dis- and uninterested.

Notimpressedyet: Please see my above warning about IFC On Demand's presentation of "Midnight Kiss" (directly above your expressed intention to SEE it in that format) or you are probably not likely to change your handle any time soon.

Posted by MickTravis at August 21, 2008 10:16 AM

comment #19

NotImpressedYet says ...

I somehow missed that, Mick, so thanks for catching it. Are you sure? If so, that sucks, and is a dealbreaker for me.

Posted by NotImpressedYet at August 21, 2008 10:21 AM

comment #20

Gordie Lachance says ...

Sorry, but fat, ugly people who sit at home all day typing their anger out onto the internet are a waaaaay bigger cliche than any vapid L.A. relationship drama.

Posted by Gordie Lachance at August 21, 2008 10:29 AM

comment #21

Richardson says ...

"Look before you leap, think before you speak, observe before you trash"

This from a guy who says that everybody who goes to see [random movie coming out next week] is uneducated and stupid and fat and ugly and their lives are not worth living... every single week?

Jeff's complete, utter lack of pathos and self-awareness creates such wonderful irony that I'm consistently amazed that he's not in any way kidding.

Posted by Richardson at August 21, 2008 10:35 AM

comment #22

MilkMan says ...

An even bigger cliche, Gordie, is assuming that everyone (yourself excluded, of course) who sits at their computer all day is fat and ugly, not to mention the current put down du jour of those who still see the internet in terms of what it meant 15 years ago. That's like saying anyone who watches television is fat and ugly, that anyone who reads books is fat and ugly.

But you sound like you're in the perfect demo for this movie.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go eat another Plum Bun and avoid all mirrors.

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 10:40 AM

comment #23

MickTravis says ...

Notimpressedyet: I am not sure about the color/black-and-white issue, but there's an entire thread of posters on the film's IMDb page complaining about the color presentation. If it's true, it genuinely boggles my mind.

Richardson: Word. I was poking fun at the hypocrisy of JW's chiding more than the judgementa-lity itself.

Posted by MickTravis at August 21, 2008 10:40 AM

comment #24

cjKennedy says ...

Some of you are like a bunch of high school girls lurking around in a diseased pack, tittering about the way everyone else is dressed.

If you've seen the movie and you hate it, that's fine, but give it a chance.

Jeff is telling you it's solid and he's right. The trailer is a lie meant to fool you into thinking it's something you've already seen, but it's better than that.

Or screw it. Remain cynical. Wallow in Apatow movies for the rest of your lives and die knowing that at least you're super cool.

Posted by cjKennedy at August 21, 2008 10:42 AM

comment #25

MilkMan says ...

I think Jeff, like most people who spend too much time absorbing what Los Angeles has to offer instead of shooing it away, suffers from being a member of The Cult of the Flesh. Young and Pretty = Relevant and Necessary. I understand. I mean, this is a city where people can't stand the sight of 30 year old buildings, let alone human beings. But in my experience, people who place the most importance on what their image is (that means you, Scoot), are usually pretty pedestrian on the inside, and when they get old, and their body starts to decay, and they lose their looks, what you're left with is a husk. And this city os full of walking husks. Maybe Smart Glasses can make a movie about that next time. But he looks like the type of guy who probably thinks he has this city all figured out after living her for a couple of years. And that's another problem I have with most movies that take place in Los Angeles. They are made by people who don't have a feel for the city, who only know the city from other movies they have seen. Of course, there are exceptions to this, and they are myriad, but from what I've seen of this film, Smart Glasses and Scoot don't look like they are the exceptions, they look like the rule.

And Jeff, seriously: if you can judge an entire NATION on what movie they want to go see, then at least allow me the indulgence of judging three people based on their attire and how they pose for the camera. I think that's only fair.

Oh, gotta go. Time to eat again and pop a few whiteheads.

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 10:53 AM

comment #26

cjKennedy says ...

These people are a million miles from LA...or at least they were at the time the film was made. The film is from the perspective of an outsider trying to become an insider. At the beginning, Los Angeles is described as the city where love comes to die and the audience laughs because at least half of them moved to LA at one point with a significant other and it killed them. That's what happened to the main character in the film and it's based on the writer/director's own experience.

Posted by cjKennedy at August 21, 2008 11:02 AM

comment #27

MilkMan says ...

But that doesn'r mean that I don't think Scoot isn't an incredibly handsome young man, because he is. He's got that whole Austin-Indie-Rock look going on, and I appreciate that. Were he in a band, I bet they would sound something like 20/20 meets Kajagoogoo. He must have a very pretty girlfriend, too. Go Scoot!

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 11:06 AM

comment #28

MilkMan says ...

Thanks, CJ. Now I really, really don't want to see this movie, although talking about not seeing it seems to be very entertaining to me.

So Los Angeles is described as the city where loves come to die. Okay. That seems like something a frat guy would come up with over his third Corona at Cabo Cantina. Los Angeles isn't the place where love comes to die. Los Angeles is the place where assholes come to live. Now make that the central thesis of your movie and I'll be the one laughing, and that's what's most important.

Time for lunch.

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 11:13 AM

comment #29

cjKennedy says ...

You know, it's not every day you get a sweet Kajagoogoo reference for free like that. I hope you all know how lucky you are.

And now I've got "Too Shy" stuck in my head for lunch...

Posted by cjKennedy at August 21, 2008 11:15 AM

comment #30

Richardson says ...

"The next movie about Los Angeles I see that doesn't have the frailty of human connection as one of its themes will be the first."

MilkMan -- I'd recommend 'the Big Lebowski'. Right when the narrator is about to start talking about those sorts of themes, he cuts himself off and the movie's over.

Posted by Richardson at August 21, 2008 11:19 AM

comment #31

AuggieBenDoggie says ...

Oh joy. Another movie about the awful yet pretty chore of being a disaffected hipster doofus. I can just feel the pathos dripping off of the dude in the hat.
Yup, I'm sure it will be right up there with Marty or The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

Posted by AuggieBenDoggie at August 21, 2008 11:22 AM

comment #32

Richardson says ...

"That's what happened to the main character in the film and it's based on the writer/director's own experience."

You managed to make it sound very boring, incredibly cliche, and almost mind-blowingly self-indulgent in one breath! Kudos!

Posted by Richardson at August 21, 2008 11:22 AM

comment #33

MilkMan says ...

You're right, Richardson. Sorry, I forgot about Lewboski.

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 11:23 AM

comment #34

Clark Perry says ...

Sometimes I sit here and judge the commentors on this blog too harshly because they say the dumbest, most asinine things in the world. But I bet that if we ever met up for beers, we'd probably get along just fine.

And damned if that isn't part of what MIDNIGHT KISS is all about. Two people meet online and take a chance on a New Year's Eve date. They both arrive with misguided preconceptions and ill-fitting suits of emotional armor. As the evening progresses, that crap falls away and you see who they really are.

MIDNIGHT KISS is more than just another irony-laden wisecracking hipster indie movie. As I learned during the talkback at last year's AFI Fest screening, all of the people involved spent years trying to land work in the Hollywood studio
system. This scrappy clutch of friends moved here from Texas, auditioned like crazy, pulled strings to get meetings, worked crappy jobs and pitched projects to anybody who'd give them the time of day.

Nothing happened. The old canard says that Hollywood doesn't crush anybody, people just give up. Not them. Out of sheer frustration, they picked up an affordable camera and made their own movie. They wrote a resourceful script based on what they had (tiny apartments, clunker cars, threadbare wardrobes, etc.) and what they hoped they could steal (fantastic LA locations that,
thanks to their small camera and crew, they could shoot while avoiding the permit police). The foolhardy project cost a few grand and took a couple of weeks ... but at the end, they made a damn movie.

None of that would matter much if the movie wasn't any good, but it is. It's got a funny script, some terrific performances, and some beautiful cinemetography. They never believed anyone outside their circle of friends would ever see it. This whole process has been a fantastic journey for everyone involved. Talk to them in person (and I have) and you'll find they're all regular people who are thrilled and elated that anybody might see their film. Hell, they're probably jazzed that complete strangers are taking time to ignorantly bash them on somebody's goddamned blog.

MIDNIGHT KISS isn't the best movie you'll ever see but it's got heart and soul in spades. It's about likeable but damaged people trying to connect in a sun-blasted, dream-crushing city. Maybe that's just not your cuppa tea. Fine. Most of the time, rom-coms ain't for me, either. But I found MIDNIGHT KISS unexpectedly moving and, on multiple levels, hugely inspiring.

Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get back to my script about assholes on the internet. I'm hoping to show that even when they come off like assholes, deep down they're mostly decent people who just need to step away from the keyboard more often and connect person-to-person.

Posted by Clark Perry at August 21, 2008 11:24 AM

comment #35

The Playlist says ...

I'm completely suprised to see Wells endorsing this film. I thought many would see it as completely amateurish tripe. The acting and presentation is straight out first year film school. When it does skate by, it skates by on brief charms alone.

Posted by The Playlist at August 21, 2008 11:26 AM

comment #36

cjKennedy says ...

So you think LA attracts assholes rather than turning people into them? I disagree, but that's cool. Lunchtime for me too. And I'm going to be a huge asshole to the poor slob at Sizzler just because I'm small and miserable and he's the only guy I an be bigger than.

Posted by cjKennedy at August 21, 2008 11:26 AM

comment #37

NotImpressedYet says ...

Milkman wrote: "Los Angeles isn't the place where love comes to die. Los Angeles is the place where assholes come to live"

Milkman definitely brings the funny.

Posted by NotImpressedYet at August 21, 2008 11:31 AM

comment #38

Yves says ...

If the choice has to be between Holdridge or Apatow, I choose the latter, as he isn't trying to fool anybody. He knows he's producing lowest common denominator hastily-edited crappy popcorn flicks. He's all but admitted it! And he's capable of creating great teenage angst when he wants to, although why bother as it doesn't pay. I say again, why give something a chance when it is asking for money from my wallet and time from my life? I gave it a chance when I watched the trailer.

The Big Lebowski is the best movie about LA I've ever seen. Every time I watch it, it takes me back to when I lived in the Valley in the mid-nineties.

Posted by Yves at August 21, 2008 11:36 AM

comment #39

MilkMan says ...

Can someone please water Clark Perry, or at least put him closer to a window, because he's starting to wilt a little.

And the days of cheering people on because they made a movie with little to no resources is over. A camera costs peanuts, and actors will work for free. That angle was fine, I guess, twenty years ago, but it's been worn down to the nub. For me, it's about what kind of story you choose to tell, not that you figured out a way to tell it.

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 11:39 AM

comment #40

Richardson says ...

Clark - to be clear, I (at least) am making fun of the people pushing it, especially Wells. I haven't seen the movie, nor even a trailer, so I can't say anything about it. Your reaction makes it sound more interesting than any of the other reactions here.

However, that said, there are certain rules I have noticed as a filmgoer. One is that, every single year, without exception, there is one movie that hits as the new-low-budget-indie-rom-com that, briefly, everybody talks about and all the critics jizz over [preferably because they saw it in a festival before release]. Now, I haven't seen this, but yours is the first description/reaction in this thread which doesn't make this movie sound like a by-the-numbers version of this SAME exact thing.

(The same thing happens with low budget horror movies; every year, a movie like 'The Descent' comes out, gets so hyped that, by the time you see it, it inherently sucks even if there are a few interesting bits, because you've been led to believe it's a great movie.)

The reason is that every would-be filmmaker in LA that can't get a budget and, thus, can't get anybody remotely famous in their movie falls back on either "20 somethings talk about life, learn lessons" or "20 somethings go into woods, die". Both of these types of movies can coast by on decent moments and likability, and the audiences that go to see them forgive basic failings, thinking, "Well, it was cheap, so it's okay," or, in the case of the latter, "That's part of the fun."

I don't think the sentiment being expressed here is truly directed at this movie; I think the sentiment is directed at the generally boring slate of indie movies which are released. It's really kind of sad -- HD and video and all were supposed to democratize filmmaking, but, on the indie side, all we've gotten from it so far (with a short, short list of exceptions) is that it's easier to get that much more self-indulgent.

I, for one, hope that you're right and this is not the movie that everybody else makes it sound like.

Posted by Richardson at August 21, 2008 11:42 AM

comment #41

cjKennedy says ...

"If the choice has to be between Holdridge or Apatow, I choose the latter, as he isn't trying to fool anybody." Aim high my friend and happy hunting.

Posted by cjKennedy at August 21, 2008 11:43 AM

comment #42

Yves says ...

Clark-- now that was a review! If Jeff posted what you wrote without the pictures, it might have changed my perception of the trailer and convinced me to check out the film. And MilkMan-- you've gone sour.

Posted by Yves at August 21, 2008 11:44 AM

comment #43

Richardson says ...

If there were an "edit" button, I'd tone down my use of the word "indie"; I don't usually use it that much, but I was rushing.

Posted by Richardson at August 21, 2008 11:45 AM

comment #44

MilkMan says ...

Yves, I expired long before I came here.

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 11:46 AM

comment #45

M.EdwardWallace says ...

Dear Gruver;

Please continue to post photos of possibly fatuous movie persons. It only encourages MilkMan. That makes a good day for most of all of us.

Posted by M.EdwardWallace at August 21, 2008 11:46 AM

comment #46

Yves says ...

cj--it was meant to be one of those "would you rather lose an arm or a leg" questions.

Posted by Yves at August 21, 2008 11:48 AM

comment #47

Chapman Carruthers says ...

>>>Yves, I expired long before I came here.

And yet, still refreshing when stuck in a room full of people trying to peddle their interpretation of hip. Your milk is still worthy of my cookies.

And for the grammer hounds out here, I mean that in the congratulatory sense. Not in the vaginal sense.

Posted by Chapman Carruthers at August 21, 2008 12:01 PM

comment #48

Eboue Knows says ...

I've seen the movie, about three weeks back at the IFC Center. I thought it was thoroughly mediocre.

"Shot on HD, looks like 35mm."

Really now? I think even people who've seen the film and liked it can tell it's video. In the words of The Wolf, "let's not start sucking each other's dicks quite yet."

I don't even think it's particularly well shot, and to me feels like an outsider shooting Los Angeles (and not particularly liking the city very much), which has been said in the thread (as they are outsiders).

But please, don't tell me this is any kind of love letter to the city of Los Angeles, cause it's really not. That kind of film can only be made by a filmmaker born and/or raised in Los Angeles, with a few exceptions of course (this movie not being one of them).

Posted by Eboue Knows at August 21, 2008 12:24 PM

comment #49

rr3333 says ...

To think that if these pretentious assholes didnt wear ratty shirts or clark kent glasses that this thread would have 2 responses instead of 30.

Why cant these guys get desk jobs like the rest of us?

Posted by rr3333 at August 21, 2008 12:28 PM

comment #50

MilkMan says ...

Don't worry, rr3333, they'll get them soon enough.

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 12:31 PM

comment #51

T. S. Idiot says ...

"The Big Lebowski is the best movie about LA I've ever seen."

Leobowski is the only movie me and the mrs. watch more than once a year, but still it's no Chinatown or Big Sleep.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at August 21, 2008 12:43 PM

comment #52

Richardson says ...

T.S. - I don't mean to knock 'Chinatown' as a film, as a whole, but speaking strictly in terms of a portrait of the city of Los Angeles, I would argue that 'Lebowski' is more rounded. 'Chinatown' is great for the negative side, but, presumably, there is some up-side if people are, you know, living there and all.

Posted by Richardson at August 21, 2008 1:00 PM

comment #53

Richardson says ...

"I think even people who've seen the film and liked it can tell it's video. "

Eboue - "shot on HD but looks like 35mm" is the current mantra for low-budget movies. Unless the movie is extremely stylized in some way, people who like movies which are shot on HD feel compelled to say that they couldn't tell the difference between HD and 35mm, no matter how obvious it actually is.

It's the same way people who see blockbuster summer movies say "Oh, I usually hate CGI, but Two-Face looked photo-realistic!" Or 'Star Wars' prequel fans say, "You couldn't tell that they put Christopher Lee's face on a stunt double's body! It looked real!" Neither of those things looked real. And the only way HD can ever possibly look like 35mm is if you have enough money that you could afford to shoot 35 anyway.

Posted by Richardson at August 21, 2008 1:05 PM

comment #54

Mcflyboy says ...

Do not trust Clark, I'm certain he knows the makers of the film.

This is a terrible movie. It was shot for almost no money, and I admire anybody who can get the kind of attention these kids have gotten for a piece of shit. But it's a terrible movie. The acting is atrocious, especially that Scoot fella.

Posted by Mcflyboy at August 21, 2008 1:52 PM

comment #55

astrophore says ...

ok, the name scoot. quite frankly, that's a problem. the whole scoot thing. not endearing me. not speaking to my soul. the whole scoot thing.

it's shallow, but it's true. scoot newman. scoot brando. scoot o'toole. no way no how.

what do these kids know? nothing. kids never know a goddam thing. failure to make a movie is not real failure.

but now they hitch up their pants. they pull out the discover card, and put on a show. all judy and mickey.

and it might look pretty. and they might look pretty.

and maybe they saw manhattan back in high school and maybe they think they can be gordon willis with a crappy digital video camera, but they probably can't.

you can probably remove the probably.

and what about a plot? don't need a plot. coast by on atmosphere, style, ennui. see. we're going for what it's like to be lost. and young. and alive. but kinda dead inside. you know? it's tough. the city is mean. y r we here?

like if kevin smith were antonioni and entered a contest on youtube.

we don't need no stinkin' narrative. we make mashups.

but what was this movie about again? i've forgotten already.

i'll still watch it. on demand, i guess. ifc makes it easy that way.

Posted by astrophore at August 21, 2008 3:45 PM

comment #56

cjKennedy says ...

"scoot o'toole" ahahha

Posted by cjKennedy at August 21, 2008 3:49 PM

comment #57

MilkMan says ...

Nice, Astrophore.

You forgot Scoot Belmondo, Scoot Mifune, Scoot Scofield, Scoot Zerbe and Scoot Hoffman.

Actually, Scoot Hoffman has a nice ring to it.

Posted by MilkMan at August 21, 2008 4:21 PM

comment #58

NotImpressedYet says ...

The movie's gotten some other positive reviews, just so ya know. Manohla Dargis really enjoyed it -

http://tinyurl.com/5l4699

It sounds like, for what it is, it's pretty good. But if you hate what it is, as many here seem to, then it most likely could never be good enough for you.

Posted by NotImpressedYet at August 21, 2008 4:24 PM

comment #59

Richardson says ...

"what do these kids know? nothing. kids never know a goddam thing. failure to make a movie is not real failure."

I have to admit, it sounds difficult to sympathize with the filmmakers's surrogates... if their only failure is that they didn't make a movie, and you're watching a movie that the real people did make, why am I sympathizing again?

That last one is probably unfair, so I should say, I'm still willing to give this movie a chance. I like the idea of seeing a black and white movie once in a while.

Posted by Richardson at August 21, 2008 5:41 PM

comment #60

MathewM says ...

I gotta agree. These people look annoying. They're like the people I thought I wanted to know and hang with when I went to film school 15 years ago. Of course when I finally got to know them they turned out to be nothing more than selfish, spoiled suburban jerks with nothing new to offer the creative world. Maybe I was just a little envious that they got layed and I never did. Or maybe they were better looking. But whatever it was it was empty.

Jeff has a good eye and unfortunately it's captured souls as deep as a kiddie pool.

Posted by MathewM at August 21, 2008 8:37 PM

comment #61

BurmaShave says ...

In every picture I've seen of this McNairy he's wearing some kind of really douchey hat. We get it guy, your hair is thinning. Plenty of guys' hair is thinning. My hair is thinning. We all fall down.

Posted by BurmaShave at August 22, 2008 12:18 AM

comment #62

T. S. Idiot says ...

Scoot Seymour Hoffman
Scoot Philip Law
Scoot G. Robinson
Scoot C. Scott

I'll desist with that one.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at August 22, 2008 5:55 AM

comment #63

Clark Perry says ...

Do not trust McFlyboy, I'm certain he's full of shit.

I don't know the filmmakers. I met them for two seconds at the AFI Fest last fall and ain't seen 'em since.

Sorry for the digression. Now, let's get back to reviewing movies we haven't seen.

Posted by Clark Perry at August 22, 2008 10:07 AM

comment #64

T. S. Idiot says ...

Poot McNairy
Pout McNairy
Putz McNairy

Posted by T. S. Idiot at August 22, 2008 10:51 AM

comment #65

spoiled says ...

And who would want to look at the bunch of you annoying bitter bitches here?

Posted by spoiled at August 22, 2008 1:53 PM

comment #66

MilkMan says ...

Not me.

Posted by MilkMan at August 22, 2008 4:15 PM

comment #67

Richardson says ...

"And who would want to look at the bunch of you annoying bitter bitches here?"

I think we found ourselves a tagline for this movie poster.

Posted by Richardson at August 22, 2008 4:38 PM

comment #68

rr3333 says ...

Scoot Baio

George C. Scoot

Posted by rr3333 at August 23, 2008 9:38 AM

Posted by brandywhine Author Profile Page at October 1, 2008 11:41 PM

comment #70

brandywhine Author Profile Page says ...

If you go to the above link you can see the rt article with more pics of these peeps, and sara simmonds' teets...or the lack there of. Check it out.

Posted by brandywhine Author Profile Page at October 1, 2008 11:42 PM

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