On Demand Weekly

“Comcast is thrilled to extend the reach of independent movies into living rooms across the country, providing more exposure for these films, which have a passionate following,” said Diana Kerekes, Vice President of Entertainment Services for Comcast. “It’s all part of giving our customers more choice, value and a sense of excitement and closeness to indie filmmakers. With the popularity of indie films, we’re proud to be working with leaders in this field, like Edward Burns, Tribeca Film, SnagFilms and others, to make that happen.”

Non New York indie film fans, Tribeca Film is back with another slate of films available on demand. Beginning tomorrow (April 20), 6 Tribeca Films will bow on Movies On Demand. If you're in New York and can't make it to the film festival, you can watch a film for less than a cab ride.

Look for our reviews on Wednesday. More on the films in the Press Release below.

PRESS RELEASE

“We are excited to be able to present a spectrum of specialty films that will simultaneously premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and on demand in over 40 million homes, giving those not at the Festival in NY a chance to enjoy these quality films,” said Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer for Tribeca Enterprises.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: BROTHER'S JUSTICE (Tribeca Film).

Dax Shepherd Provides BROTHER'S JUSTICE On Demand (Tribeca Film On Demand)
By Adam Schartoff

In the wake of Rob Reiner’s SPINAL TAP and a subsequent series of Christopher Guest “mockumentaries” comes BROTHER’S JUSTICE directed by and starring actor Dax Shepherd and co-directed by David Palmer. Dax (PARENTHOOD, THE FREEBIE) plays a variation of himself, a proto-Hollywood actor/producer who is constantly pitching movie ideas despite how developed or undeveloped those ideas may be.

Feeling as though he has been typecast as a comic actor, Dax’s latest inspiration is to reinvent himself as a martial arts action hero; a sort of latter day Chuck Norris. Dax thinks he’s on to an ingenious plan when he comes up with the title BROTHER’S JUSTICE.

Dax Shpeherd: BROTHER'S JUSTICE (Tribeca Film)

There’s not much more to it than that. For the balance of the movie, Dax and his best pal, producer Nate Tuck (who also happens to serve as this film’s producer) try to pitch this moronic idea to a bunch of industry insiders.

Tribeca Film is back with another slate of films available on demand. Beginning today (April 20), 6 Tribeca Films will bow on Movies On Demand.

On Demand Weekly wants to know which film you want to see the most?


Zach Braff In THE HIGH COST OF LIVING
By Adam Schartoff

Dax Shepherd Provides BROTHER'S JUSTICE On Demand
By Adam Schartoff


In the wake of Rob Reiner’s SPINAL TAP and a subsequent series of Christopher Guest “mockumentaries” comes BROTHER’S JUSTICE directed by and starring actor Dax Shepherd and co-directed by David Palmer. Dax (PARENTHOOD, THE FREEBIE) plays a variation of himself, a proto-Hollywood actor/producer who is constantly pitching movie ideas despite how developed or undeveloped those ideas may be...


Non-educated delinquents… with one who wants to break that mold… NEDS
By Cynthia Kane
 

NEDS or ‘non-educated delinquents’ is a Scottish slang term meaning juvie or hood or gang member. It’s also an edgy and excellent new film from Scottish actor-writer-director Peter Mullen...


Keira Knightly and Sam Worthington Star In LAST NIGHT
By Amy Slotnick


Temptation and deception are presented in a new light by the four characters of Tribeca Film Festival drama LAST NIGHT. Keira Knightly and Sam Worthington star as a young couple who, three years into their marriage, face a cross roads that will determine the fate of their relationship...


THE BANG BANG CLUB Shoots Its Way To Your Home
By Chris Claro


In the waning days of apartheid, the early 1990s, as civil war raged throughout South Africa, a band of daring young photojournalists earned the monicker “The Bang Bang Club” for their dynamic shots of the conflict. Steven Silver’s film, starring Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman, and Taylor Kitsch, focuses on the adrenalin-fueled atmosphere that kept the shooters fighting for their pictures as well as their lives...

 

The West Indies cricketing team of the '70s/'80s will forever be recognised in history as one of the greatest teams in the world, performing on the field at an outstanding level, playing with a symbolic declaration against racism and fighting for equality. Did you ever put down the success on the field to luck?
I can tell you, we worked hard enough to get where we wanted to get at that time. It wasn‟t a luck thing. This was all about the fact that we were fitter, [had a] sense of professionalism and also there was a sense of all that pride, and putting that combination of all those things together created that team.

Your team's success was during a time of race-riots, civil unrest and Apartheid. Did you feel all that happening when you were on the field and how did you use the game to not just overcome it, however help other people suffering this injustice?
You are conscious [of it], everywhere where you had suffering of people of your colour, South Africa, wherever, I always felt conscious about it. For anyone in the team who wasn‟t aware of some of this stuff that was going on worldwide and where we, as people were on the wrong end of the stick most times, it was pretty common for me to try as an individual, to try and instil some of this belief – what we are here for and what we can achieve. We have an avenue to accomplish that and that avenue is the god-given talent we were given through the game of cricket.

So that was one way of sending that message that I think we are on an equal par in here, not superior or inferior in any way but on a level par.

As well as your cricketing talent, you are held in great esteem for refusing to play in South Africa during the apartheid, despite them offering you a „blank cheque.‟ How important was it for you to take a stand as a West Indian Cricketer and publically reject the regime?
At that time they were rather desperate because they were starved of international cricketers or sportsmen of high standards.

I think [they] felt confident that I would sign but I wanted to find out a few things - one of the things that was on the table was being an „honorary white‟. How can a black man be an honorary white man? No money in this world would help me go to South Africa in that sense. If I was to give them my natural status. I was going to sit anywhere on a train I wanted to sit. I was going to go anywhere that I wanted to go. That is the privilege of human beings so there were a few things on the table that just didn‟t feel right.

When we look at the South Africa situation, I was offered a lot of money to tour that part of the world [but] because of what was going on in South Africa in terms of the apartheid regime… all that to me whatever you achieve as a cricketer, I would like to think that is one of my greatest innings – rather than scoring that at Lords or the ARG - to have made such a significant contribution, it may be tiny, but having said no to the apartheid regime in South Africa, not going, that to me is worth more than any triple century, double century whatever, the fastest century. And that is outside the border of cricket of where cricket is concerned – cricket gave me the platform for that.

The West Indies is a collection of several islands, however when people talk about it, they often refer to the nations represented in the West Indies Cricket team. As citizens of different countries, did you feel united on the field not only playing the game, but also representing unity and fighting against persecution?

I can tell you one thing is [that] when we are playing and got on that field we put aside all the differences and the issues that the islands had, and to me I felt at the time what our politicians couldn‟t achieve we could… and did actually, in the end. Bringing that force together, uniting that region together itself. Wherever the West Indies were performing, wherever we were, the closeness of all the islands, all in partnership wanting to know what went on. I think our team played a lot in the so-called integrating factor. Whoever said sport is not a powerful force?

I can tell you that sport is seriously powerful because I have been involved in that to see the transformation of individuals who come speaking to you, individuals who are passionately tell you how much they enjoy what you guys are doing out there because collectively everyone could speak as a unit. The West Indies cricket did that more than anything else in my opinion.

I felt that, I felt a huge responsibility. Because whenever you perform, I could always imagine the noise of the various islands. I could see, just visually see the passion and how people felt about the achievement.

With colonialism, the English also brought over cricket, which essentially the West Indies used to battle them. Did it make you and the team feel proud by beating them at their own game?
Well you shouldn‟t have been the colonial master that you did, then by coming and giving us an opportunity to [learn]. So we were fortunate to be given an opportunity and help through our colonial past to play the game – and this is the opportunity that you gave us! How I look at it in this light is that having invaded our land you left a game and we became reasonably good at it. That‟s one benefit! [smiles]

You should look at it that way, that you actually had a foot in it. Rather than be totally ignorant to the fact of what are these guys doing in this game of cricket and been doing this and doing that. You should be satisfied you gave us the opportunity – these are things you expected to do especially when you were colonial masters then and these are the things you should have done and did and should feel proud of.

Viv Richards / FIRE IN BABYLON (Tribeca Film)

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: GRAVE ENCOUNTERS (Tribeca Film).

GRAVE ENCOUNTERS
Or why in the world would anyone spend the night in a creepy, abandoned mental hospital?!
By Cynthia Kane

Ghost stories will never go out of fashion. They’ve enthralled us humans since time began. We all like to be scared; we all like to watch a good thriller; we love horror. Paranormal activity, astral projection, zombies, vampires and connection with the dead are all the rage – see prime time television any night of the week.

So it doesn’t matter whether this film is real or a piece of fiction.

And oh boy… I expected to dislike GRAVE ENCOUNTERS – a kind of rip-off BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, mock-umentary, fake reality show, first-time directed by some guys called the Vicious Brothers.

But you know, I couldn’t help myself; I got into it. It’s scary.

Here we follow a small 20-something crew with a reality show on paranormal activity decides they’ll spend the night at the old and abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital somewhere in Maryland outside Baltimore. The investigating team arrive, already enjoying themselves, laughing, full of skepticism, even though the place purports to be a hotbed of weird, psychic and ghostly phenomenon, given the drastic and unsavory experiments practiced on patients in the 30s, 40s and 50s – lobotomies, weird experiments, etc.

We’re told the place was abandoned in the early 60s. Lance Preston (Sean Rogerson) is our host. He’s invited a renowned (and bogus) psychic, Houston Gray (Mackenzie Gray) to spend the night with him, locked inside, roaming the halls, to claim to feel a presence or two.

They – the ghost hunters and crew – are having a good time of it, until their sound guy suddenly disappears. As they try to find him in the massive complex, what starts off as a quirky night for good ratings turns evil and twisted. Corridors turn into mazes that never end, staircases suddenly lead to nowhere.

Dark, gnarly tunnels and bathrooms with tubs filled with blood and human matter. The entrance doors are locked and the windows open and close at their own will. Objects move and floats, their food rots into disgusting slop. The night never seems to end.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home.  ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS / Les émotifs anonymes (Tribeca Film). 

ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS
Chocolate Is Nothing To Be Afraid Of
By Kris Scheifele

Variety is the spice of life, unless it—along with most everything else—scares the living daylights out of you. The latter is the case for the two lead characters, Angélique (Isabelle Carré) and Jean-René (Benoît Poelvoorde), in ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS.

In France, this romantic comedy is called LES EMOTIFS ANONYMES, a title which doesn't really translate properly into English. In French, an émotif is not a romantic, but rather someone who has emotional issues, particularly a fear of other people. Plagued with anxieties, an émotif is deeply perturbed by mundane social situations, especially intimate ones. In France, they even have an Alcoholics Anonymous-type support group for émotifs to come out, so to speak, of the closets they literally hide in. It was as a member of this group that director, co-writer, and émotif himself, Jean-Pierre Améris, found his inspiration.

The plot is simple. Without knowing they share the same affliction, Angélique, émotif, goes to work for Jean-René, émotif, in Jean-René's ailing artisanal chocolate factory. Almost immediately, he asks his new hire out on a date. Not nearly as twee as the 2001 film, AMÉLIE, everything is super adorable and old-fashiony, but the story seems to be happening now which makes it hard not to think about the legal tinder box on which the film's premise rests. Eventually, this looming spectre fades as the two jittery lovebirds faint, sweat, and stutter through interactions fraught with self-perpetuated panic.

Obviously, variety, change, and mixing it up are definitely not the spice of life for Jean-René. Variety, however, will not be denied and spice literally saves the day. It just so happens Angélique is a brilliant, avant-garde chocolate chef, which she conceals for fear of the spotlight. Pink peppercorns, paprika, and Porcini breathe life into the unevolved, run-of-the-mill chocolates that have been both the safe staple and downfall of the business.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: MAN ON THE TRAIN (Tribeca Film).

MAN ON THE TRAIN
By Chris Claro

In the opening scene of Mary McGuckian’s MAN ON THE TRAIN, a steely-eyed loner steps into a pharmacy in search of pills for a migraine. When the pharmacist denies him the medicine, a gregarious older customer is only too happy to share his pain relievers with the stranger. Undaunted by the younger man’s taciturn reserve and mildly threatening demeanor, the older man invites him back to his house for water to wash down the pills.

So begins one of the most surprising and affecting films of the year, an exploration of two solitary lives and the ways in which they converge. With an understated grace, McGuckian offers a character study of a thief and a professor – each character is nameless – and the impact each has on the other. Slight of story but richly textured, MAN ON THE TRAIN is a mood piece, one that stealthily doles out its characters’ revelations at a deliberate, unhurried pace.

In his first acting role, U2 drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. is the eponymous railroader, rolling into town to set up a bank job with his mates. Mullen is tough to read as an actor; it’s hard to tell whether his quiet, buttoned-up portrait of the solitary thief is based on acting skills or lack thereof. Either way, he acquits himself and does justice to the character as he slowly reveals the layers beneath his reticent deportment.

And then there’s Donald Sutherland. For over fifty years, Sutherland has brought his enigmatic persona to films both great – ORDINARY PEOPLE, DON’T LOOK NOW – and not so – S*P*Y*S, SPACE COWBOYS – etching characters that are often inscrutable and off-putting. But in MAN ON THE TRAIN, Sutherland makes use of his physical stature and booming basso to imbue the professor with a verbose joviality that belies his profound loneliness. Living alone in a shambling old house that seems populated by the spirits of generations past, the sociable academic is thrilled at the idea of having a houseguest, criminal or not. With his piano, his conservatory, and his four empty bedrooms, the professor rattles about the house, tending to his guest’s needs with the enthusiasm of a man welcoming family for a holiday visit.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: THE LAST RITES OF JOE MAY (Tribeca Film).

Click Here For On Demand Weekly's Exclusive Interview With Dennis Farina

THE LAST RITES IF JOE MAY
By Sidney Falco

There are certain films, grand in scope (and budget) that aim for greatness and ultimately fail on an emotional level. And then there are films, smaller in scope (and budget), that aim for a similar greatness, but end up with mild emotional results. THE LAST RITES OF JOE MAY is one of these films; it is a straight-forward narrative tale about an over-the-hill hustler, played by the talented Dennis Farina, who wants to have one last shot at redemption.

Dennis Farina / THE LAST RITES OF JOE MAY (Tribeca Film)

Written and directed with simplicity by Joe Maggio, the film is reminiscent of films such as Vittorio DeSica’s UMBERTO D, and Louis Malle’s ATLANTIC CITY, most notably the latter film (which it never comes close to on a character or story level). Simplicity is the film’s strength; it is also its weakness. The script never really transcends the story – there is very little subtext in the film – what you see is what you get – and what you don’t know, eventually you find out.

Farina, a very complete actor in demeanor, makes all the right choices: he never over-sells himself as someone flashier (though you want him too). It’s a measured performance. Yet, the film, as well as Farina’s performance, lack any type of humor or dark comedy – a missed opportunity by the filmmaker – to counter the bleak setting, cold weather and dreary tone of the film. Granted, one could argue that this is not that type of film, but it’s gritty urban setting and shades of grey characters are nothing but tragic. The film’s a downer, and not in a good way.

There is nothing in the dialogue, nor the direction, that give Joe that extra bravado that we, the audience, long for. Dennis Farina’s face has the history, and his body language the rhythms (and the voice – no one can curse like Farina), but what comes out of his mouth is static and clunky (an attempt to hustle a slab of beef is meant, I think, to serve as a mild attempt at humor and characterization).

Dennis Farina / THE LAST RITES OF JOE MAY (Tribeca Film)

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: NORTHEAST (Tribeca Film).

Hipster men: prepare for celibacy. The writer and director of NORTHEAST has pointed his camera at you. Your cover is blown. When you’re at a party talking about your film project, your photography or your found object art or not talking at all because being cute and mysterious gets you laid, you still know that you spend your days killing time and producing next to nothing. Hey don’t change, but since you partied your way through a certain Ivy in Ithaca (via the Ag School), graduating without any debt, but also without any education, what else could you do anyway? Whatever but don’t see this film with the chick you’re trying to shag or she might see who you really are: a loser.

It’s easy to watch this film expecting that it’s actually about its protagonist, Will. That’s what we expect when we watch a movie: the protagonist does stuff, we relate to some of the experiences he has and wish we could experience others. Sometimes its even fun to identify with bad guy or girl – we can even root for them. Unfortunately just about everyone is going to watch NORTHEAST this way and then wind up confused because the story is so, to be polite, sparse. This is not a movie about Will.

NORTHEAST is dating manual. It’s a red flag. It’s an older brother telling you that you should know better. If you’ve ever lived in Portland or Berkeley or Austin or Brooklyn and dated a cool guy who didn’t have a real job because he was trying to achieve his “vision,” this movie will mean much more to you that to the rest of us. You’ll remember how cute he was and how you romanticized the bravery it took for him to reject materialism and financial security. You’ll also remember that he stopped returning your calls and pretty much ignored you after you slept with him a few times. If you haven’t yet been charmed by a Will in real life, you’ll watch this movie and wonder why anyone would give the time of day to this boring zero on the road to nowhere. But now you’ll know how to identify him at the next party before you’re drawn into his bullshit.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: ULTRASUEDE: IN SEARCH OF HALTSON (Tribeca Film).

ULTRASUEDE: IN SEARCH OF HALSTON
By Amy Slotnick

Halston was America’s first celebrity designer, dressing the country’s most glamorous performers and first ladies, and was the first to become a household name. Known for this love of excessiveness and glamour, Halston epitomized the 1970’s. After designing Jacqueline Kennedy’s iconic inaugural pillbox hat, Halston launched his own line of clothing. Known for its casual chic and modern, fluid lines, his clothes flattered women in the signature fabrics, jersey and ultrasuede.

Halston was a central figure of New York City’s nightlife

and his clothes became ubiquitous amongst an elite circle,

which included Liza Minelli, Truman Capote, Andy Warhol and Bianca Jagger.

The new documentary, ULTRASUEDE: IN SEARCH OF HALSTON, follows a string of successful documentaries about fashion greats such as Valentino, Vogue’s September Issue and photographer Bill Cunnigham. Director Whitney Sudler Smith leads his investigation on camera, interviewing many of Halston’s famous friends, muses and critics. The most interesting characters uncovered are those not as well known, such as Halston’s boyfriend, artist Victor Hugo, and the Dupont twins, revelers at Studio 54 who are candid about the drug abuse of the period.

Halston was also a leader in the licensing trend, lending his name to a wide range of products, including carpet, housewares and frangrances. He attempted to democratize fashion and dress America when he made a $1 billion contract with JC Penny to create a line of affordable Halston designs. Although today designers from Versace to Alexander McQueen have succeeded with mass-produced lines for Target and H&M, at the time the move tainted his brand.

So many movies and so many movie lists of 2011. How could you watch or read them all and yet so many are so similar. Do you need affirmation of the films you may have seen in the theaters already? How about learning about the best films of 2011 you may have missed?

On Demand Weekly's Cynthia Kane and Chris Claro offer their Top 10 Movies On Demand of 2011. Tell us what you think of the their lists or what your #1 movie of 2010 is HERE.

Part I - Cynthia's is HERE.
Part II - Chris's is below.

10. SHUT UP, LITTLE MAN! AN AUDIO ADVENTURE
Matthew Bate’s hilarious and poignant film about unwanted fame and the subculture of pre-Internet tape trading was an entertaining and effective documentary.

9. THE MAN FROM NOWHERE
The violent and kinetic thrill ride from Korean director Jeong –beom Lee was stuffed with dynamic action set-pieces and an amazing performance from child actor Sae-ron Kim

8. BLACKTHORN
The last real man, Sam Shepard, took on the legend of the last real outlaw, Butch Cassidy, in an elegiac film about the final days of cowboys and Indians.

7. THE BIG UNEASY
Humorist Harry Shearer’s fascinating and heartbreaking document of the post-Katrina cover-up by the Army Corps of Engineers. Thoroughly sourced, sincerely conveyed, and absolutely fascinating.

6. BRIGHTON ROCK
Helen Mirren and John Hurt classed up this retelling of Graham Greene’s novel about a killer and the girl he entrances. Set against the birth of the mods/rockers conflict, Rowan Joffe’s film also boasted an intense performance by Sam Riley.

5. CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOP
Behind the scenes with the talk show host on his post-Tonight concert tour, director Rodman Flender’s film was painful, funny, and painfully funny.

4. TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL
Horror clichés were turned on their ear in Eli Craig’s debut film. Stars Taylor Labine and Alan Tudyk were a joy as the harmless hillbillies mistaken for psychos.

Chris's Top 3 of 2011...

On Demand Weekly's VOD Spotlight highlights stories from the On Demand industry. Chris Claro interviews U2 drummer turned actor, Larry Mullen Jr. about MAN ON A TRAIN (Tribeca Film). Read our review of the film here.

Larry Mullen Jr. Drums Up Interest On Demand
The drummer from an iconic band talks with On Demand Weekly’s Chris Claro about his cinematic acting debut.

At 50, Larry Mullen, Jr. would appear to have precious few mountains left to scale. Founding member of the internationally acclaimed, universally respected, still-together U2, Mullen has provided the band his steady backbeat for over thirty years. He and his mates have sold over 150 million records, won 22 Grammy Awards, and are esteemed not only for their continued relevance, but their ability to bring light to the world’s ills. But even with all that, Larry Mullen, Jr. had the desire to do something new. The cliché goes that all actors want to be rock stars and all rock stars want to be actors, so just as Elvis, Bowie and Mick did before him, Mullen decided to take a shot at another kind of performance.

The film he chose as his debut, MAN ON THE TRAIN. It’s a remake of the French original, co-starring Donald Sutherland as a lonely professor who befriends a mysterious and taciturn stranger. The two men have a profound effect on each other and the film is an engaging, if obtuse, look at their offbeat friendship. Mullen’s involvement in the project came out of a meeting he had with his friend, the director of the film, Mary McGuckian. Though she encouraged him, Mullen was initially reticent, as he felt acting was “kind of a lead singer thing to do.”

“It’s not a dream a drummer is supposed to have,” Mullen explains. But McGuckian asked Mullen to watch the original MAN ON THE TRAIN, which starred Johnny Halliday, who was considered by some to be the French Elvis. “And he does this film and it’s a hit all over the world,” says Mullen. Halliday’s success acting in the film made Mullen less hesitant about taking the plunge into acting. “I was watching how somebody in your business actually can make that transition without too much embarrassment,” Mullen says.

Mullen was impressed that a novice such as Halliday could score onscreen, and jumped at the opportunity to take a stab at the same role, undaunted by his own lack of training. In fact, Mullen felt that his lack of professional acting skills made performing in the film easier for him. “Having no knowledge or training gave me a get-out-of-jail-free card,” he says, “I couldn’t fall back on technique if I had a problem. I just had to get up and do it again, which I did. Since I didn’t know any better, I wasn’t embarrassed in front of Donald Sutherland.”