War Dance

This isn't a full on review or anything. I just wanted to express my utmost appreciation for this film. War Dance is about the Acholi tribe in Northern Uganda, where civil war is ravaging the country. However, there is a primary school within a refugee camp where the students have won the honor of competing in the prestigious National Music Competition. The film juxtaposes the people's constant fear of being attacked by the rebels and the horrifying stories of how these children have lost their families with their daily practicing of song and dance in hopes of showing the rest of the country that they are worthy of respect at the competition. It's gorgeously filmed, with vibrant colors and tightly framed, invading close ups. It's an uplifting story that is hard to relate to, one that evokes both empathy and hope. It's an unbelievable movie that is deserving of it's Oscar nomination for Best Documentary, as well as the other awards it won at various festivals (including Sundance). If this slipped by you in it's limited theatrical run like it did to me, by all means take the time to watch it on video.

Rock Out With Your Wand Out

Harry And The Potters

I have never read a Harry Potter book. The only knowledge I have is from watching all 5 of the movies thus far. It's not that I don't like Harry Potter, I've just never gotten around to reading the books (and I don't think I ever will). And I am endlessly fascinated with how these books affect people. It was really creepy walking around town when the last book, The Deathly Hallows, came out. Everyone was reading it. Nobody was talking to each other. It was like everyone had been brainwashed. You'd see a family of four, sitting at a table in a cafe, all reading their own books. There's something at least a little wrong with that. Well, the new documentary We Are Wizards, takes a look at the sub-culture that Harry Potter has created and how it's effected people. I caught this movie as it was showing for the Independent Film Festival Of Boston and after the movie, there was a Wizard Rock show with Harry And the Potters, Draco And The Malfoys, The Whomping Willows, and The Hungarian Horntails.

We Are Wizards was a great, fun documentary. It's not a movie that you need to have read the Harry Potter books to enjoy. The first part of the movie focused on the aforementioned bands, the ones that play music about Harry Potter. Known as Wizard Rock (or WRock), it has become a sizable genre of music with hundreds of bands sprouting up on MySpace. All four of the bands that performed live afterwards were featured in the movie. There were also tales of lawsuits from Warner Brothers that were thwarted by kids around the world that run Harry Potter fansites. And of course, genius creator of that Washington video Brad Neely was on hand to talk about his Wizard People, Dear Reader...thing. Neely created a voiceover to be played along with the first Harry Potter movie with the movie's volume turned down (similar to what MST3K is doing now). The twist is, Neely has never read the books. He was just a fan of the movie and thought it would be funny to create his own story. A lot of the people featured in We Are Wizards were at the screening. Neely was also at the WRock show afterwards, but I was too nervous to go talk to him. I couldn't think of anything to say. Anyways, We Are Wizards takes a really interesting look at how Harry Potter has shaped our society in a good way. If that sounds like your kind of thing, well, then go see it.

You want to know what the best part of a WRock show is? It's the adults' unabashed love for all things Harry Potter and not being ashamed to rock out and have a good time to bands singing about HP. Everybody is positive, nobody is judging, and the room is full of awesomeness. Take, for example, The Hungarian Horntails. They are two brothers, about 7 and 5 years old, singing about being a dragon. The 7 year old is the lead, plays guitar and sings, while his younger brother does backup vocals. Some sample lyrics: "I am a dragon and I don't care, I just wanna see people scared!" These kids embody what it means to be a WRock band. They have no fear, no shame, and just do what they love. And because they were performing in Boston (home to the Boston Tea Party) they threw dozens of tea bags into the audience at the end of their set. Nice touch. The rest of the show was just as fun. The Whomping Willows is a one man band, singing from the perspective of a tree, a really horny tree I might add. And then there's Draco And The Malfoys, who are two brothers singing about how much they hate Harry and love Voldemort.

Ahhhh, and finally there's Harry And The Potters. They have really matured since their first CD. In the beginning, they were just some kids playing mediocre music from the perspective of Harry Potter. Now, now, they can rock with the best of them and craft super catchy songs that make you laugh out loud. My love for Harry And The Potters is unrequited. Maybe I don't get all of their jokes, but I don't need to. I enjoy it all the same (and Elise lets me in on some of the more obscure jokes sometimes). The Harrys are such an energetic live band that really know how to engage the crowd. They get you singing and dancing and their number one priority is making sure you're all having a great time. Their recorded music is fantastic (and if you've never heard them before, start with The Power Of Love) but seeing them live is a totally different experience and is one that everyone should participate in at least once.

The Rape Of Europa

Little fact about me: I plan on going to graduate school to become a film archivist (still and/or video).

The Rape Of Europa is a documentary based on the book of the same title by Lynn Nicholas. Everyone knows about the Holocaust and the genocide of 6 million Jews. What gets overlooked, however, is how Hitler was able to not just destroy people but also their cultures and symbols. The Rape Of Europa tells the story of Hitler's Third Reich by focusing on art and architecture and how they were affected by WWII. In addition to the reckless bombing that nearly decimated all of the ancient architecture in Europe, Hitler and his officers raided museums and private collections of innumerable classic pieces to be used in their own collections. Hitler himself, when creating plans for the remodeled city of Linz, had in mind the world's largest museum erected in his name. Europa has tales of specific paintings and their journeys from prestigious museums to hidden mines and it tells of specific people who did everything they could to stop the wrecking and pillaging. Because this is an account of one of most destructive moments in recent history, this movie is, for the most part, a downer.

As devastating as Europa is, however, there were still many moments of courage and hope. There was one French woman who worked in a museum in Paris before the war, who was transfered to work in a museum-turned-warehouse that was being used as a depository for all of the stolen artworks. This unassuming woman, who secretly spoke German, kept a diary of every piece of art that came and went through the museum. During her workday, she would memorize every detail that she could and when she returned home, she would write down who the piece originally belonged to and where it went after it left the museum. Because of her tireless work, hundreds of paintings have been returned to their rightful heirs.

After one unfortunate Allied bombing in the Italian mountainside that missed all targets but almost completely leveled an ancient, world-renowned monastery, the Nazis issued propaganda that called the Allies destroyers of art. In response to that, the United States sent art experts into the front lines. Art professors and historians who had never been in the Army or seen combat before were now out in the middle of the action and their sole purpose was to take note of buildings and public statues that were not to be touched. They became known as the Monument Men and with minimal resources, they were able to save numerous buildings from utter destruction.

Many large museums across Europe attempted to evacuate their collections to be protected from pillaging and collateral damage but one of the most emotional moments in The Rape Of Europa was the evacuation of The Louvre. One of the most important pieces that needed to be transported out of the museum was the Winged Victory of Samothrace. It was extremely difficult to move because it has been reconstructed over the years and it consists of hundreds of different pieces, all glued together. The amount of time and care that went into moving the Victory in the midst of war was remarkable. Knowing that these people risked their lives for a work of art is truly inspiring.

The Rape Of Europa has a few of wonderful stories but the majority of it shows just how awful Hitler and his Third Reich were to the people of Europe. And many of them were naive about their safety. Locals to Pisa, for example, thought there was no chance the war would reach them because they were home to the Camposanto and the Leaning Tower. Sadly, they were wrong and the Camposanto was demolished, and the melting lead roof coated all of the ancient frescoes.

Europa has many tragedies coupled with few triumphs, but such is the case when dealing with the history of WWII. However, it is an enlightening, touching story exhibiting true devotion and heroism. I recommend this highly to all.

Wholphin No. 5

Wholphin is a "DVD magazine of rare and unseen short films" put out by McSweeney's. You can buy the DVDs individually or you can purchase a subscription. They come out quarterly and usually have a dozen or so short films. I received No. 5 in the mail recently as the first one of my year-long subscription (a wedding gift from my beloved sister and brother-in-law). Upon viewing this, I realized I need to purchase the 4 previous issues and also that 4 times a year isn't nearly enough because the whole DVD was viewed within the span of a couple of days.

While all of the shorts on No. 5 were fantastic, there were a couple that really stood out. Death To The Tinman is the first one on the DVD and it's one of my favorites. It's a black and white narrative about a guy named Bill who slowly replaces various body parts with metal, becoming a strange cyborg that still retains all brain functions. Meanwhile, all of his previous body parts are gathered together and composed into the Meat Puppet, a body that looks just like Bill, but without a brain or eyes. Obviously, his girlfriend wants to be with the Meat Puppet instead of his tin version, and thus forms a bizarre love triangle.

House Hunting was another good short story. It stars Paul Rudd and Zooey Deschanel as newlyweds who are out house hunting. Their real estate agent is a strange, strange man and the three of them have all sorts of issues. I'm not sure if this would have as much appeal if it wasn't for the casting but regardless, it's still interesting.

Piece By Piece is a short documentary about speed-cubing. For the uninitiated, speed-cubing refers to people who complete Rubik's Cubes as fast as possible. There are all sorts of characters in this short from young schoolchildren to tattooed couples. This was one of my favorite docs on the DVD.

There were so many other great shorts on No. 5, it's hard to talk about them all. There was the really bizarre Echos Der Buchrucken Parts I & III from Spanish filmmaker Cesar Velasco Broca and there was the animated Chonto, a story about a burned out rock star who acquires a monkey he names Chonto. There's docs about drunk bees, the Sudan Liberation Army, the Western Shoshones, and tree-hanger John "Kung Fu" Wang. This is a great collection of short films and I look forward to getting more of them. There's something on here for everyone, so I highly doubt anyone could be disappointed with this.

The Grand

I've been excited about The Grand for a while now. It had a limited release back on March 21 and it just hit Boston this past Friday at The Kendall. When you have a movie that's directed by Zak Penn (Incident At Loch Ness) who tells his cast including Ray Romano, Werner Herzog, David Cross, Dennis Farina, Richard Kind, Woody Harrelson, Michael McKean, and numerous others to improvise, it has to be good. The script was supposedly only 29 pages long and the rest was up to the cast. While this movie is obviously an absurd comedy, it's also a poker movie. So as funny as it was, to get the full enjoyment, it helps to at least be interested in the topic at hand.

The Grand is structured like a documentary, with various one-on-one interviews with the players. Everybody gets a little bit of backstory so we can see where they're coming from, with the exception of Woody "One Eyed Jack" Harrelson. Instead of just giving us his history, which includes him inheriting his grandfather's Lucky Rabbit's Foot Casino, it furthers the story by showing how he's run it into the ground and is in jeopardy of losing it to Billionaire Steve Lavisch, played by McKean. Lavisch wants to bulldoze the Rabbit's Foot and build his own casino, consisting of two enormous buildings, but only one room total between the two of them (no, you didn't read that wrong). So while all of the characters have their own background, One Eyed Jack is the only one with a foreseeable future. We only know what Jack plans to do with the $10 million prize if he wins The Grand tournament. As for the other players? We have no idea.

That's one of the rare problems I had with The Grand. I thought if they were going to do a little bit to create a plot, it should have involved more characters. Only giving us info about one character seemed weak. They should have either left it alone or given us more.

The other drawback, which I hinted at earlier, was that you need to be into poker to enjoy some of The Grand. I have no such interests. The Grand is definitely a comedy movie with a little bit of poker in it but there was a big tournament called The Grand that obviously needed to be shown. The final scene of the movie was supposed to be a climactic game between all of the greatest poker players vying for the $10 million prize. The problem was it was seriously lacking in any laughs. Being less than enthused by poker made this scene drag. So sadly, The Grand kind of ended on a low note.

Although just because it ends in a boring way, doesn't mean the rest of the movie was dull. In fact, The Grand was just the opposite. There were parts where I was in tears it was so funny. Even amongst all of the fantastic improv, there was one standout act. That would be Werner "The German" Herzog. The two best scenes in the movie are his entrance and his exit. The epic Handel-esque song when The German comes into the hotel is fantastic. The lyrics, you just need to hear to them. They're amazing. And when he's about to leave, he can't find his bunny, Munchkin. He won't leave without him and he's pacing through the hallway saying, "Muchkin, Munchkin, Munchkin. Where are you, Munchkin? I've lost my bunny. Have you seen my Munchkin?" It's hilarious. I love Herzog and the movie is worthwhile even if just for his role.

So while it really helps to have some passion for poker playing, especially watching it being played, The Grand is still a successful movie. It's fantastic seeing what all of these great actors come up with. And at the very least, I guarantee you'll be laughing watching The German being interviewed with Munchkin in his lap.

Confessions Of A Superhero

Lots of documentary watching has been going on lately in these parts. I think it started with the Salem Film Fest, which was almost entirely documentaries. Since then, I think every other movie I've received from Netflix has been one as well.

The latest was Confessions Of A Superhero. I saw a trailer for this a while ago, way before it was out on DVD and I thought it looked beautifully composed and well shot. It reminded me of the book Animal House by Catherine Ledner (mostly the scenes with Superman being interviewed in the green room). The preview was definitely a good indication of how the rest of the movie was filmed. Everything was gorgeous, especially all of the still shots that are found throughout. They're super crisp, punchy, and high contrast. Perfect combination for superheroes on the streets of Hollywood. If you're the type of person who leaves movies running on their TV in the background while they go about other things in their house, this could definitely be another one to add to your collection. It reminded me of a really cool screen saver at times. In a good way, though.

Confessions follows a few different people who dress up in costume and walk around Hollywood Boulevard trying to get tourists to take their picture. The catch being, of course, "we work on tips" and the camera quickly cuts to Batman flashing his fistful of dollars. As you would expect, this isn't what these people dreamed of when they came to Hollywood (with the exception of Superman). They're aspiring actors. The film accompanied the superheroes (dressed as their civilian alter egos) to various auditions, proving that they are serious about acting and are trying their best to get into the biz.

The director of this movie, Matthew Ogens, must be a very sensitive person. I think this because of the way I felt towards the superheroes. Elise and I were talking after the movie was over and she said, "Batman is a shit." I offered that he's not "a shit," but rather he has serious psychological issues. She told me that if I knew him in real life, say, as a co-worker, I would think he's an angry, violent, lying prick. I thought about it for a minute and she was right. I would hate Batman if I knew him. The same goes for Wonder Woman. I'd probably call her a crazy self-centered Baptist hussy. But Confessions never makes fun of these people. They're portrayed in a very sympathetic way. It's not that the director wants you to pity them, though. He just wants you to understand. Realize that these are real people trying to do what they love. Nothing more. That's why this was a successful movie, in my opinion. It would have been so easy to spin it so that these superheroes are turned into freaks. Bums with no life and no motivation. Ogens certainly didn't take the easy route.

However, Confessions is not perfect. It had a slight failing in a way that I see in so many other documentaries. It feels like it doesn't really go anywhere. We watch these people work, they talk about their past, their aspirations, but not much else. I say slightly only because that's really what this movie was supposed to be about. It's title alone makes reference to it. It's really nothing more than interviews with these superheroes because it's not supposed to be. Although, that is the only fault I can really find with this movie. It's tender and magnificent and if that's the way you like your documentaries, then this is highly recommended.