Through the annals of film history, we generally look to the 70s as the epicenter of the independent film explosion. And while filmmakers like Coppola, Scorsese, Altman, De Palma, Spielberg, and Lucas were the respective patient zeros, this ‘golden era’ really only marks a midpoint in an evolution that began much earlier and has continued on into today. There have always been independents and they come in all shapes and sizes. I like to say the best independent film ever made is The Empire Strikes Back. It’s ironic to think that the epitome of big budget, effects driven, Hollywood cinema could be considered independent, but it is—and Empire’s spirit, and Clerks‘s spirt, are one and the same.
Continue reading The Bet Still Stands, Larry David: An Interview with Indie Filmmaker Sam Henry Kass
Tag: greg deliso
10 Movies Nobody Has Seen (Because Nobody Cares About Them)
Sometime in the year 2000, I went to the movies, and I don’t even remember what I ended up seeing because one of the previews left such a profound mark on me that what followed has been erased from my memory. The preview was for Under the Tuscan Sun, and when it came on all I could think was, ”who the fuck would ever want to see this movie?”. That moment crystalized my understanding of the irrelevant.
The movies on this list are not famously bad like Plan 9 From Outer Space. And they’re not notorious flops like Ishtar and Bonfire of the Vanities. In fact, there’s nothing remotely memorable about them. They just sort of exist, but it’s hard to believe they do, because nobody talks about them. In a way, they’re much worse than awesomely bad triumphs like The Room and Troll 2, because those movies at least found an audience. These movies are so wholly uninteresting in every way that they aren’t even worth making fun of.
If you’ve seen any of the following movies, please let me know. You’ll be the first person ever to have seen them, and will be given an award as their respective patient zero.
Continue reading 10 Movies Nobody Has Seen (Because Nobody Cares About Them)
The 10 Nicest Movies Ever Made (If These Movies Don’t Make You Cry, You Have a Black Heart)
Field of Dreams. The undisputed king, for sure. But here’s ten other great ones.
It was a really tricky thing putting this together because they’re ranked on niceness, not goodness. Number two and number five are the best movies on the list. But they aren’t the nicest.
Niceness is even harder to define than coolness. Niceness is a warm and fuzzy feeling that a lot of art can generate. Probably the most popular example would be Norman Rockwell paintings. Niceness, like coolness, taps into our primal brains somewhere. We’re wired to feel it because it connects us to each other. But the problem with niceness is that it borders so heavily on cheese. Cheese done right is transcendent. But cheese done wrong is, well, cheesy.
Continue reading The 10 Nicest Movies Ever Made (If These Movies Don’t Make You Cry, You Have a Black Heart)
After Earth: Blame Smith, Not Shyamalan
After Earth (2013)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Screenplay by Gary Whitta and M. Night Shyamalan
Story by Will Smith
100 min.
Tommy Lee Jones once said that the secret to being funny is standing next to Will Smith. Like any leading man, Smith is classically handsome, cut from steel, infinitely charming, and possesses an inexplicable charisma that glues your eyes to him. His son does not. Jaden Smith’s eyes are like Vin Diesel’s—boring and lifeless. And his acting is about ten billion times worse.
Continue reading After Earth: Blame Smith, Not Shyamalan
The 10 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, Part II
You know how when you start trying to think of stuff, days later more stuff keep popping into your head? It’s the cousin phenomena to thinking of a clever comeback the day after the party when it’s way too late to use it.
The first few movie I thought of after the fact were added as ‘honorable mentions’ to my first list of The 10 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, but in the weeks that followed, I was able to come up with ten more, some equally as good as on the first list. Which I guess makes the first list bunk. But I don’t know how official these rankings really are.
Again, I know it’s audacious of me to suggest you haven’t seen these. I hope you have. And if you haven’t, I hope these become some of your new favorite movies!
10. The Karate Kid, Part III (1989) | Dir. John G. Avildsen | 112 min.
Okay, this is on here because you all think you’ve seen this, but you haven’t. The Karate Kid Part III is NOT the one with Hillary Swank. That’s the fourth one. That one is called The Next Karate Kid, and it isn’t good.
Continue reading The 10 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, Part II