Micmacs is a light-hearted crime caper that tells the tale of Bazil who finds out that the same weapons manufacturers that killed his father made the bullet that injured him and left him penniless.  With the help of an underground crew of misfits, each with their own set of specific and odd skills, they seek revenge against the giant manufacturer company by slyly pitting them against their competitor in order to take them both down.

Basically everything this guy Jean-Pierre Jeunet does is great and Micmacs is no exception.  Some may say that it’s not his best but it’s rare that a film can be fast paced, funny as hell including really well done physical comedy, and really sweet at the same time.  When you add these elements to a plot twisting crime caper story that beats the hell out of any of the Oceans 11 movies and you’ve got one of the first films of the summer that’s actually worth your time and money spent in the theater.

Out this weekend: 5/28

We Live In Public tells the story of the rise and fall of the internet visionary, Josh Harris whom is dubbed “the greatest Internet pioneer you’ve never heard of.”  Josh started pseudo.com, the first internet TV station before the internet could even handle video, which made him a millionaire.  As Psuedo grew it got weirder and weirder and so did Josh.  Although the doc doesn’t really get into this, I’d say this has to do with the copious amounts of E that was being used by this set at the time, you can tell by the outfits alone, but I digress.  Josh wanted to create the ultimate experiment on the effects of video on identity so he created an underground bunker in NYC that was viewable at every angle (including the bathrooms).  He held a casting call to get the artsiest, 90′s rave-tastic people NYC had to offer, locked them up for a month with all the food, booze, guns (no clue why), etc they could handle and recorded their every move for the viewers to enjoy online.  It was basically the on-line Big Brother for the Chemical Brothers & Crystal Method set, culminating with a police raid shortly after new years eve of Y2K.

The documentary falls apart after this when it gets into his second experiment which involves filming every second he and his live in girl friend spend in their apartment for people to watch and comment on line. Obviously this breaks up his relationship and life where he then flees NYC for an apple orchard by himself up state,  but the extraordinary vision this shlubby guy had on where the internet would be and how it would/could effect people is truly amazing. The film’s website describes how, “With Quiet, Harris proved how, in the not-so-distant future of life online, we will willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire. Through his experiments, including another six-month stint living under 24-hour live surveillance online which led him to mental collapse, he demonstrated the price we will all pay for living in public.”  Its just a shame he was 5 years too early and we were all too young and busy jerking off to care to listen.

We Live In Public is available on DVD now and I highly recommend renting it if your a fan of technology or just like to see super rich asshole types ultimately fail due to their own demise.

This doc is not just about Banksy, although he’s most of it. This doc is not even about street art in general, although that is the glue that links this incredible story together. This doc is about Thierry Guetta, a part time store owner, part time street artist, part time filmographer and full time lovable idiot. Thierry gets sucked into the street art scene by following and filming his cousin and street art pioneer, Space Invader as he goes out on late night missions to put up his work. This leads him to meeting and teaming up with the amazingly huge Shepard Fairey and finally Banksy, in the process capturing some fantastic never before seen footage on them out on missions and gets into some really hairy situations.  Then in a turn of brilliance, Banksy turns the camera on our subject Theirry as he tries his own hand at the art scene as “Mr. Brain Wash” and sets out to launch LA’s largest art show.

Very few documentaries have this rare mix of amazing footage, stories, and laughs like Exit Through The Gift Shop does.  Whether you dig art or not, this movie is just a good time and I find it hard to believe that anyone could say a negative thing about it.  To say more other than just go see it would take away from the experience. So go.  Now.

“It’s basically the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed” – Banksy

Pupkin, played by De Niro like you’ve never seen him before: pathetic, delusional and relentless, is an autograph hound and amateur stand up comic who is obsessed with Jerry Langford (think Johnny Carson and played by Jerry Lewis)- the biggest name in late night television.  After he gets a few minutes alone with Jerry to discuss trying out for the show, Jerry brushes him off but a psychotic Pupkin who’s clueless to social cues takes him for his word and relentlessly hounds Jerry not only over the phone but also at his office to the point where he needs to be physically removed from the reception area multiple times.  With the help of a fellow Jerry Langford stalker (Sandrah Burnhardt) they kidnap Jerry and hold him hostage until Pupkin can have his time in the limelight.  This works in his favor and we finally hear his stand up act and it caps off one of the most gut wrenching, cringe worthy squirm in your seat performances I’ve ever seen.

This film is a classic in every way and by one of the best directors ever so I won’t go into detail about every aspect beyond that is amazing and a must see.  The pacing of the film jumps around from reality to scenes that exist solely in Rupert’s imagination which gives a view into just how delusional and sick Pupkin’s psyche really is.  This lends itself to the workings of De Niro who caries the movie on his shoulders, but with ease.  All of the actors are well above average but De Niro really kills it and you wonder why he doesn’t choose these roles anymore, sadly opting for basically playing caricatures of himself now.  I also quickly wished Scorsese would go back to making these “smaller” movies that let the actors really explore their characters rather than epic blockbusters with huge ensemble casts.  His later stuff has always been great but the diference between then and now is stark by comparison.  I guess the 80′s really were just a simpler time, but just because it has been buried in decades worth of great work, The King of Comedy is not to be overlooked.  When it comes to the workings of Scorese no one can agree on what exactly is his best but ff Raging Bull is arguably Scorsese’s best film (thats my vote anyway) than The King of Comedy is right behind it.

Not Quite Hollywood came out late last year (in America) and was written and directed by Mark Hartley. The documentary covers the making of all of Australia’s B and low budget films from the 70′s through today Alvin Purple, Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, Dead-End Drive In, Long Weekend, Mad Max, The Man from Hong Kong, Patrick, Razorback, Roadgames, Stork, Turkey Shoot, and more. Hartley interviews over eighty Australian, American and British actors, directors, screenwriters and producers, including Quentin Tarantino, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Dennis Hopper who either have worked on and in these Australian favorites or just absolutely love them (Tarantino). It focuses on the commonly overlooked “Ozploitation” films—mainly filled with sex, horror and violence—which critics and film historians considered vulgar and offensive, many times for good reason but that’s what makes these films so freaking fun.

This documentary, although not spectacular by any means, is really entertaining on many levels. The sheer campy-ness of these 70′s and 80′s B movies are worth watching the doc alone just to have a laugh at what crap could be made on a shoe string budget and released back then. The more fascinating level of this doc is the many stories that the screen writers and directors tell about making these crazy movies almost all of which end up in partying, sex, fights, and/or crew members almost killing themselves due to the lack of regulations and the DIY movie making of the time. The one gripe I had with this one was there was a bit too much Tarantino shooting off the cuff about how much he loves this unexplored genre, but being he did help get the movie released, I’ll let it slide. If you take anything away from this documentary it’s how little we American’s have been exposed to what’s going on an island half way around the world making crazy ass movies that you’ve never heard of but would love to check out…. well at least after a six pack and a few bong rips. Hey, the Ozzies wouldn’t have it any other way.

Not Quite Hollywood is out on DVD now.

A Prophet stars up in coming French actor Tahar Rahim as a very young and clearly uneducated 18 year old Malik El Djebena who is sentenced to six years in prison. Shortly after he enters the prison as a lone wolf, he into the protection of the Corsican Mafia group, led by Luciani (an absolutely AMAZING performance by Niels Arestrup) by agreeing to kill a new prisoner who ratted out the Corsicans in the real world and has taken a liking to Malik in the showers. The Corsicans, who although now make up a small majority, still rule over the mostly Arab prison and Malik, a half arab himself toughens up while playing both sides of the coin and wins the confidence and protection of the Corsican group. After Luciani loses most of his men to a shuffling of prisoners throughout France, he’s left with no one but Malik as his trusted assistant. Luciani arranges 12-hour leaves for Malik, in which he’s sent on missions on the outside for the last two years of his sentence including drug deals, murders, and sniffing out a rat in their gang. After quickly growing up at Luciano’s side, Malik secretly starts to develop his own network to become his own gangster.

At 2.5 hours, A Prophet does get a little long but it has enough action, graphic violence and absolutely riveting performances by both Rahim as Malik and Arestrup as Luciani that you literally get lost in the story and forget is all just an act. When Malik is visibly shaking as he is about to kill for the first time is a jaw dropping scene and that’s only in the first 20 minuets! As a lover of crime thrillers this ranks very high on the list of greatest of all time and I really do recommend anyone who likes violent mafia movies to see it, if not in the theater now than on DVD later. Trust me, even though its not American and comes from those dirty French bastards, it might be better than anything else you see all year.

For those of you who are not familiar with the true story of Charlie Bronson, he’s Britain’s most expensive inmate.  Charlie (real name Michael Gordon Peterson, Bronson’s his fightin’ name) came from a respectable middle class family outside of London but as soon as he could he started fighting… everyone.  This lead him to petty theft which lead him to time in the slammer which he found to be his own hotel room.  He loved it and never wanted to leave.  Where else could you take on 4-5 baton wielding guards in one throw-down?  Eventually the UK prison system doesn’t know what to do with him so he spends time in a few mental institutions, he starts riots, he gets released somehow and ends up back in jail after only 3 months which he couldn’t be happier about.

The film tells the story through Charlie’s eyes as the film cuts back and forth from him narrating as a circus clown in front of an audience to the actual story line.  The film is about using violence as an alter ego and walking the line between a weird caged animal and kind of a likable guy.  When things get weird, they get very weird.  His time in the mental hospital is mostly a drugged fueled drool fest as the mentally ill dance around him.  Later in life, Bronson explores his artistic side by holding guards or art teachers hostage, making them hand paint him head to toe in black or white (lots of male nudity in this one, you’re forewarned) and then fighting 5 armored guards.  Shit definitely gets a bit freaky.

Bronson is a pretty unique film and a lot funnier than the trailers and marketing would have you think.  It’s a brawlers film but its also strange, depressing, and hilarious all at once with a fantastic late 80′s early 90′s British techno meets new wave soundtrack.  The real Charlie Bronson is holding a record for years spent in solitary confinement and has stated that, though he has never seen the film, “it is the greatest film ever made.”  Not so fast big guy, but worth a rental?  Sure I’ll give you that.

Now if you don’t know anything about The White Ribbon, its by Michael Haneke who did the critically acclaimed stalker thriller Cache and both versions of ultra violent Funny Games (German ’97 and American ’08) which if you saw either you’d notice a lot of similar cinematography teqhniques in this.  In short, the white ribbon is the story of a year in an Austrian village just before WWI in which a series of mysterious and violent events (kids go missing and are found beaten, a village house is burned down, etc) leave the God fearing overly and often inappropriately strict parents of the village pointing fingers at each other and often guessing “who dun it?” with out ever thinking/dreaming it might be a few of the creepy kids who have had enough of them.

If you liked the long, drawn out, single shot scenes used in Henke’s other work then The White Ribbon’s use of this technique plus the lack of any music, it being in black and white and the Children of the Corn esq creepy, dead-behind-the-eye’d kids will really give you a creep show boner.  It creates the illusion of drama that may not have otherwise been there but it also slows down and really quiets the film which is already pretty slow.  The White Ribbon is definitely unique and also pretty beautiful but not incredibly impressive as a whole and I don’t expect it to win best foreign picture nor do I really think it should (the hype is all around Ajami).  Then again, no one liked or expected the Japanese Departures to win the foreign category last year so who the hell knows?

Fish Tank stars Katie Jarvis (a previously unknown actor found when yelling at her boyfriend on a train platform) as 15-year-old Mia who lives in a modified slum in the suburbs of London with her Mom and little sister, all of whom seemingly hate each other and let it be known day in and day out. When Mia’s not yelling and fighting at home, she’s doing more of the same on the streets plus a ton of boozing and dancing almost always by herself to old school hip hop (lots of Eric B & Rakim which is always nice) in an abandoned apt. Her life changes when her mom brings home a new boyfriend (Michael Fassbender whom you may recognize from Inglourious Bastereds) and a very Lolita-esq inappropriate relationship slowly seeks in between the two.

Now Fish Tank definitely has its flaws (its about 20 mins too long, sometimes the mom’s dialogue is a bit unbelievable, although the film is interesting there’s not a hell of a lot in terms of plot) but I would say the upsides (really fantastic performances all around, raw and really believable characters) outweigh these flaws enough for it to be engrossing, enjoyable and all around well worth your time. Is this an amazing, must see film of the year? No. But compared with the overall crap that is shat on us during these bleek winter months, it stands out like a smuggled condom full of contraband.