Dane101 - Film

WFF2008 Encores: "Stuck" returns to Madison

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:00:11 +0200

"Stuck," a film by UW alum Stuart Gordon, makes an encore performance at Sundance Theatre starting Friday. The film premiered in Wisconsin at the 2008 Wisconsin Film Festival. Below is dane101's review of the film.

Director Stuart Gordon snuck into the back row of the theater for the last 15 minutes of his movie Stuck. That he missed the rest of the movie would be a shame if he hasn't seen it with an audience as engaged as the one that packed the Orpheum Main Stage last night -- their synchronized gasps and groans would have been be catnip for a old-school provocateur like Gordon. He made his reputation on horror movies like Re-Animator and King of the Ants, but he's also got hardy theater chops -- his last movie starred William H. Macy and was based on a David Mamet play -- and it's this double-barreled approach that makes him a natural for a bloody melodrama like Stuck. In its first half, when it's particularly well observed about its lower class, sad sack characters, the movie is especially terrific, and it deflates a little when those characterizations thin out near the end. Nevertheless, for ripped-from-the-headlines fare, it's delicious.

"Public Enemies" wraps in Chicago

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:31:50 +0200

If you were one of those caught up in the frenzy surrounding the filming of Michael Mann's Public Enemies earlier this year, you might be interested in knowing that filming officially wrapped in Chicago on Friday. The film, starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, shot at various locations throughout Wisconsin including downtown Madison and nearby Columbus. We'll get to see how Wisconsin holds up as a backdrop when the film arrives in theaters on July 1, 2009.

Filmmaker Exchange: Wis-Kino goes to Louisville

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:20:13 +0200

I’ve been involved with Wis-Kino – the Madison chapter of the international Kino Microcinema filmmaking movement – for a number of years now, but until this weekend, never had the chance to venture out to another city to take part in their own festivities. Kino has chapters all over the world: Montreal, Paris, Hamburg, and Adelaide, Australia, to name a few. The only other chapter in the States, however, is in Louisville, and Wis-Kino has enjoyed a friendly relationship with them since their inception, several times hosting members who came to Madison to participate in our 48-hour filmmaking Kabarets. Several times, too, some of our members made the trip to Kentucky for their own Kabarets.

So this year, when Wis-Kino directors Sam Lawson and Josh Klessig decided to make the journey again, I decided to tag along. Local playwright and filmmaker Rob Matsushita also came, so on Friday morning, we all piled into Sam’s Prius (gotta save gas money and mileage, after all) and headed south.

"Zero Trooper F" gets a promotion

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:15:31 +0200

Oh, Madison, you hot bed of weird, little, indie film making you. Locally shot and produced film Zero Trooper F is teetering on the edge of going viral now that the official trailer is online. My favorite website for truly bizarre films, Twitch, picked it up earlier today and Jenna Worthman just blogged about it this afternoon for Wired.

The film is the brainchild of UW Alum Eric Lim who worked on the project with many of the same people who helped create Andy Schlachtenhaufen's Loose Cannons. Both of the films were a hit at this year's Wisconsin Film Festival and Loose Cannons, a buddy cop film, has hosted a number of encore performances around town.

Notes on a Screen: Madison Area Television, Gaming, and Film News 2008 - Week 23

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:30:03 +0200

The most important local screen news this week regards the future of WYOU. The community television station has a bleak future, Samara Kalk Derby reported on the situation for the Cap Times:

Quote:

Charter Communications is dropping its local cable franchise agreement with Madison in favor of a statewide franchise allowed under a recent change in state law regulating cable TV providers. All financing for public, educational and government channels, or PEG channels, is set to end by February 2011.

Where is season two of internet sensation Chad Vader? Blame Society continues to negotiate the future of the show, but in the meantime they've begun producing "employee training videos" for new hires at Empire Market. The first features Chad and answers the always important produce department customer service question: What to do if you think there is a spy from a competing store spying on the beets?

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Schabow Reviews the Midnight Screening

Thu, 22 May 2008 19:02:02 +0200

One of my fondest moments as a child was my mother taking a huge group of my friends to "Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom" for my nine-year-old birthday party. Not expecting the film to be as dark as it was, my mother was convinced there would be calls from upset parents. After all, it would seem plausible that kids could get nightmares about vampire bats, eating monkey brains, the occult, drinking blood, bugs, bugs, more bugs, rollercoasters, a scary bald guy punching through chests and pulling out hearts with his bare hands while the prisoners are being lowered into a lava pit and burnt alive while their hearts bursts into flames. One would think there would be nightmares, but there weren't (except for maybe a few regarding Kate Capshaw's opening musical number). Instead, as sugar-laden, hyperactive kids, we ate all that monkey shit up.

Notes On A Screen: Madison Area Film, TV, and Gaming News 2008: Week 20

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:45:28 +0200

We haven't produced a "Notes On A Screen" since the week of the Wisconsin Film Festival, apologies. We blame complete silver screen burnout. With all of the hoopla regarding Public Enemies being filmed around the Capitol earlier this week this seems like the best time to fire up the weekly round-up of TV, gaming, and film news coming out of the greater Madison metropolitan area.

Johnny Depp wasn't in town for this shoot of what has come to be known simply as P.E., but Christian Bale and Billy Crudup did strut up the steps of the Capitol building as Madison doubled for Hoover's fledgling FBI headquarters. Bale is playing Melvin Purvis, who was Dillinger's pursuer, while Crudup is portraying the young Hoover. The results are photos and coverage galore.

Public Enemies hits the Capitol

Mon, 05 May 2008 23:37:38 +0200

Take a trip back to Depression-era gangster times, when the Wisconsin state capitol was ostensibly located in Washington, D.C., a privileged few apparently had plastic water bottles and modern film and lighting gear, and everything was a kind of warm black and white tint.

A total of 14 pics from the filming of Public Enemies shot from the Pickney and East Wash side of the Capitol:

Dane101 Films the Farmers' Market for the Wis-Kino Kabaret

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:45:31 +0200

Last Saturday, several contributers to Dane101 made a movie for the Spring 2008 Wis-kino Kabaret. Since that was also the opening day of the Dane County Farmers' Market, we wanted to document that event.

Part of the Kabaret challenge was to work a secret ingredient into the film; in our case, it was a prop.

Dane101 Joins in Wis-kino's Spring Kabaret

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 06:36:50 +0200

Since 2002, the international filmmaking movement Kino has been thriving in Madison's Wis-Kino chapter. During the organizations 48-Hour Kabaret participants have 48 hours to write, shoot, and edit a short film.

Several Dane101 contributers decided the best way to understand the Wis-kino experience was to participate in it. On Friday evening, Adam Schabow made it to the kickoff meeting for Wis-kino's Spring Kabaret. In a departure from prior years, instead of a shared theme for all the films each team got their own challenge prop.

Need more film? Try the Wisconsin Union’s East Asian Film Festival

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:15:52 +0200

In case the Wisconsin Film Festival wasn’t enough to satiate cinematic appetites, the Wisconsin Union’s East Asian Film Festival began Thursday. Five films total (one Thursday, two Friday, and two Saturday) will be shown for free at the Frederic March Play Circle in the Memorial Union. The lineup and synopses, which can also be found on the Wisconsin Union’s website are as follows. I haven’t seen most of the films, but I’ve added italicized comments on the films I have seen because I think they’re phenomenal and definitely worth seeing – especially for free.

WFF2008 Encores: "Loose Cannons" Packs a Punch

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:23:06 +0200

A number of Wisconsin Film Festival movies will be returning to Madison as they enter wide release or for special showings. We will be highlighting them as they return as part of WFF2008 Encores

Loose Cannons: Campus Security tells the story of a miscreant gang of student campus security officers at a local University startlingly similar to UW-Madison… Protecting and serving become a bit of a problem for them when the football team’s playbook is stolen and their beloved mascot “Muley” is murdered in suspicious correlation with the university’s impending homecoming celebration. The plot thickens; these atrocious acts have not been set in motion by the rival school, but by an embittered domestic foe. Spencer Huntly. One of the very students expelled through the valiant actions of our bubbly campus-cop crew has come back to reek vengeance and reap reward with foul play, a nearly silent sidekick played by the director, and a new gang of thugs appropriately dubbed as the “Freshman 15”. The villain’s treachery can’t be contained by typical human angst; his vile plans, while immature in nature, are obscenely sociopathic. Yet, our “loose cannons” have no fear; their bravery delivers them through even the most elaborate fights and haphazard gun battles with alarming grace.

Wisconsin Film Festival the Movie (part 2)

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:15:55 +0200

WFF2008 Review: "In Search Of A Midnight Kiss"

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:30:12 +0200

Sunday morning came early after the Nerdcore premiere the night before. Still, the Orpheum possessed one of my most anticipated films of the Wisconsin Film Festival, and neither the early start nor a hangover was going to keep me away.

In Search of a Midnight Kiss is the story of Wilson, a man that recently moved to Los Angeles to sell a screenplay. Wilson’s roommates Jacob and Min, encourage him to start dating and find someone to spend New Year’s Eve with. Wilson eventually gives in to his nagging roommates, and creates a personal ad on Craigslist.

WFF2008 Review: "The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins"

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:24:31 +0200

The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins was provocative, challenging -- the type of documentary that doesn’t neatly sum up a subject but instead leaves the audience with a kaleidoscope of questions and opinions at its conclusion.

New Zealand filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly is in Rumbeck, a village in the wartorn region of South Sudan, to work on a documentary about a de-miner (yes, that’s exactly what it sounds like: someone who removes explosive mines for a living). One night near the campfire at the Westerner-friendly NGO camp where Brettkelly’s staying, she encounters a woman (Vanessa Beecroft, the film’s subject) talking about how she’s donating breast milk to twins in the village, and ultimately hopes to adopt the babies. At the time, Brettkelly was working on a project about international adoption, and asks if she could film Beecroft’s process, having no clue that Beecroft herself is an internationally acclaimed, experimental performance artist whose complex psyche would prove a far more interesting study, especially in contrast to the simplicity of their Sudanese surroundings.