Employing a premise previously mined for far greater humor and suspense by The Golden Girls and Saved by the Bell, Merry Christmas depicts the squabbling that engulfs a hoity-toity New York City clan playing a murder-mystery game at a Pennsylvania bed and breakfast.
Aside from a few sketched-in remarks about their relationships to one another, Anna Condo's film provides little background on its protagonists, instead simply gazing at their alternately awful and tedious behavior — much of it courtesy of Ted (Antony Langdon), the younger companion of matriarch Maya (Alexandra Stewart), who drunkenly spouts racist opinions to Aurelia (Angelique Cinelu) and informs the devout innkeeper that there is no God.
What's really absent from this fiasco is...
Aside from a few sketched-in remarks about their relationships to one another, Anna Condo's film provides little background on its protagonists, instead simply gazing at their alternately awful and tedious behavior — much of it courtesy of Ted (Antony Langdon), the younger companion of matriarch Maya (Alexandra Stewart), who drunkenly spouts racist opinions to Aurelia (Angelique Cinelu) and informs the devout innkeeper that there is no God.
What's really absent from this fiasco is...
- 12/4/2013
- Village Voice
With Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs (Himself), Antony Langdon (Anton) and Joaquin Phoenix (Himself); directed by Casey Affleck.
By Craig Younkin - September 23, 2010
You wonder what Joaquin Phoenix and director/brother-in-law Casey Affleck had in mind when they decided to put together “I’m Still Here.” It’s a documentary yet it’s fake, funny yet tragic, bizarre but also very personal and therapeutic. Like Phoenix wants to go to the dark corners of his mind to play out those mental traps an artist can fall into. In this movie, Phoenix is over-indulgent, needy, and entirely convinced he’s nothing but a hack.
He begins the film fed up with acting, feeling like an actor is just a puppet for someone elses creativity. So, he quits and decides to try his hand at hip-hop. Only, there's two problems. The first is that he really isn’t that good. The...
By Craig Younkin - September 23, 2010
You wonder what Joaquin Phoenix and director/brother-in-law Casey Affleck had in mind when they decided to put together “I’m Still Here.” It’s a documentary yet it’s fake, funny yet tragic, bizarre but also very personal and therapeutic. Like Phoenix wants to go to the dark corners of his mind to play out those mental traps an artist can fall into. In this movie, Phoenix is over-indulgent, needy, and entirely convinced he’s nothing but a hack.
He begins the film fed up with acting, feeling like an actor is just a puppet for someone elses creativity. So, he quits and decides to try his hand at hip-hop. Only, there's two problems. The first is that he really isn’t that good. The...
- 9/23/2010
- by Screen Comment
- Screen Comment
Winter's Bone (15)
(Debra Granik, 2010, Us) Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan. 100 mins
What No Country For Old Men did for west Texas, this striking landscape thriller does for Missouri's Ozark mountains. This is no country for poor women: an insular rural community clouded by drugs and patriarchy where they do things their way. So when Ree learns her father's skipped bail, and the family home was his security, she must ask difficult questions in dangerous places – chiefly among her extended outlaw family. Tough suspense, documentary-like observation and character drama are perfectly balanced.
I'm Still Here (15)
(Casey Affleck, 2010, Us) Joaquin Phoenix, Sean Combs, Anthony Langdon. 107 mins
What was Joaquin thinking? This film won't clear that up, but it at least shows you what he was doing: taking drugs, falling out with friends and the movie biz, rapping badly and descending into mumbling incoherence – apparently.
The Other Guys (12A)
(Adam McKay, 2010, Us) Will Ferrell,...
(Debra Granik, 2010, Us) Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan. 100 mins
What No Country For Old Men did for west Texas, this striking landscape thriller does for Missouri's Ozark mountains. This is no country for poor women: an insular rural community clouded by drugs and patriarchy where they do things their way. So when Ree learns her father's skipped bail, and the family home was his security, she must ask difficult questions in dangerous places – chiefly among her extended outlaw family. Tough suspense, documentary-like observation and character drama are perfectly balanced.
I'm Still Here (15)
(Casey Affleck, 2010, Us) Joaquin Phoenix, Sean Combs, Anthony Langdon. 107 mins
What was Joaquin thinking? This film won't clear that up, but it at least shows you what he was doing: taking drugs, falling out with friends and the movie biz, rapping badly and descending into mumbling incoherence – apparently.
The Other Guys (12A)
(Adam McKay, 2010, Us) Will Ferrell,...
- 9/17/2010
- by The guide
- The Guardian - Film News
I guess we can probably file this one under “not a surprise”, but various comments from Casey Affleck in an interview and a series of e-mails with the NY Times seem to confirm what many have suspected, namely that Phoenix’s melt-down documentary “I’m Still Here” was an elaborate hoax.
Casey Affleck is Phoenix’s brother-in-law and followed Phoenix around for the doc, filming his descent into drug-taking, prostitutes and hip-hop recording. The NY Times quotes Affleck as follows:-
“His performance is compelling, always watchable, manages to be repulsive and charming, believable in all emotions, completely committed, incredibly brave. How difficult to resist the cheap joke, the wink, the nudge. He has the tools for this. He has the goods in spades.”
Affleck went on to say that when Phoenix appeared on The Late Show looking disheveled, mumbling about his intended hip-hop career (see below), David Letterman was not in on the joke.
Casey Affleck is Phoenix’s brother-in-law and followed Phoenix around for the doc, filming his descent into drug-taking, prostitutes and hip-hop recording. The NY Times quotes Affleck as follows:-
“His performance is compelling, always watchable, manages to be repulsive and charming, believable in all emotions, completely committed, incredibly brave. How difficult to resist the cheap joke, the wink, the nudge. He has the tools for this. He has the goods in spades.”
Affleck went on to say that when Phoenix appeared on The Late Show looking disheveled, mumbling about his intended hip-hop career (see below), David Letterman was not in on the joke.
- 9/17/2010
- by Dave Roper
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In the “documentary” I’m Still Here, Joaquin Phoenix lets it all hang out. His behaviour is revealing and crudely hysterical – sex with a hooker (he is giddy about smelling her asshole), full frontal nudity of his male assistants (Antony Langdon, Larry McHale) and you even get up close and very personal with him as he vomits into a toilet. It follows him as he announces his retirement – tired of being a puppet and a characterization of “Joaquin Phoenix” – and his journey of reinvention into a Hip-Hop artist.
I’m Still Here doesn’t throw any amazing punches, however you’ll laugh and cry from it – Joaquin Phoenix isn’t a real person, this is Borat-inspired insane performance art – just because he is so utterly deplorable. As charismatic an actor as he is, in this film there isn’t even a glimmer of celebrity to him, it has been totally stripped away.
I’m Still Here doesn’t throw any amazing punches, however you’ll laugh and cry from it – Joaquin Phoenix isn’t a real person, this is Borat-inspired insane performance art – just because he is so utterly deplorable. As charismatic an actor as he is, in this film there isn’t even a glimmer of celebrity to him, it has been totally stripped away.
- 9/14/2010
- by Karen Divorty
- FusedFilm
In autumn 2008 the entertainment channels were abuzz with the strange story of Joaquin Phoenix’s retirement from acting. In the tradition of all good movie plots there was a twist – this Hollywood star had set his heart on a new life as a musician and nothing was going to stand in his way. There followed twelve surreal months of speculation, confusion and reinvention as Joaquin’s distinctive curled lip disappeared beneath a Unabomber beard and an alternate persona rose from the ashes of his career: Joaquin ‘Jp’ Phoenix – hip hop artist! I’m Still Here tells the behind-the-scenes story of that year.
Joaquin Phoenix was born in Puerto Rico in 1974. His parents were members of the Children of God cult and Joaquin himself was raised in the religious community until the age of six when the family became disillusioned with community life and broke away. The name Phoenix was adopted to symbolise their new start.
Joaquin Phoenix was born in Puerto Rico in 1974. His parents were members of the Children of God cult and Joaquin himself was raised in the religious community until the age of six when the family became disillusioned with community life and broke away. The name Phoenix was adopted to symbolise their new start.
- 9/13/2010
- by Emily Breen
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
I’m Still Here
Directed by: Casey Affleck
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Antony Langdon, Sean Combs
Running Time: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: Sept 10, 2010
Plot: A film that follows Academy Award-nominee Joaquin Phoenix as he decides to quit acting in hopes of starting a rap career.
Who’S It For? If you’ve ever asked in passing, “What the hell is Joaquin Phoenix thinking?”, hoping to get an answer, this movie will not be of any assistance. Instead, it will overwhelm you with approximately two hours more of confusion/questions.
Overall
Will the real Joaquin Phoenix please stand up?
The real Joaquin Phoenix is floating around somewhere in I’m Still Here, a “documentary” “about” his “life.” And as we can see from his totally bonkers nature, regardless of whether it’s authentic or not, Phoenix is not exactly all there at the same time. But before the film even...
Directed by: Casey Affleck
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Antony Langdon, Sean Combs
Running Time: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: Sept 10, 2010
Plot: A film that follows Academy Award-nominee Joaquin Phoenix as he decides to quit acting in hopes of starting a rap career.
Who’S It For? If you’ve ever asked in passing, “What the hell is Joaquin Phoenix thinking?”, hoping to get an answer, this movie will not be of any assistance. Instead, it will overwhelm you with approximately two hours more of confusion/questions.
Overall
Will the real Joaquin Phoenix please stand up?
The real Joaquin Phoenix is floating around somewhere in I’m Still Here, a “documentary” “about” his “life.” And as we can see from his totally bonkers nature, regardless of whether it’s authentic or not, Phoenix is not exactly all there at the same time. But before the film even...
- 9/11/2010
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Tim Burgess has revealed that he may feature on Joaquin Phoenix's rumoured hip-hop album. The Charlatans frontman recorded with Phoenix for a guitar-based LP but later suggested that the sessions had been scrapped in favour of the actor's rap project. Talking about his involvement, Burgess told Digital Spy: "I got a phonecall from a friend of mine saying that this actor is doing a record - kind of a secret thing, will you meet me at [Thai restaurant] Toi On Sunset? "So we drove up the Hollywood Hills and got there and it was Joaquin Phoneix and Antony Langdon, who's the bassplayer from Spacehog. Antony was doing a solo record and Joaquin was producing it. They got me there because Joaquin is obsessed by Britpop, and I was there as the pacemaker - that's what they called me!" He added: "I went there every day for two weeks and (more)...
- 6/14/2010
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
There's nothing safe about Todd Haynes' ambitious, sensual and nostalgic musical romance "Velvet Goldmine", which divided critics at Cannes but won the filmmaker a special prize from the jury for best artistic contribution.
An upcoming Miramax release, "Goldmine" may not live up to its name at the boxoffice, but Haynes' sumptuously glamorous style, a glittery cast and super soundtrack will lure hip crowds in major markets and ensure a strong post-theatrical performance.
Set in the sex-and-drugs London music scene of the 1970s, evoking David Bowie, Brian Eno and other glam rockers, "Goldmine" is the story of fictional Brian Slade Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who fakes an on-stage shooting at the height of his career and disappears from sight when the hoax is revealed and his fans turn against him.
Ten years later, former fan and journalist Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) goes searching for Slade. In the process, he revisits his idol's rise and fall through interviews with Slade's former lover, influential American star Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor), and former wife, Mandy (Toni Collette).
Haynes freely admits that "Citizen Kane" is the inspiration for the film's complex structure and occasional razzle-dazzle sequences. Indeed, Orson Welles' 1941 masterpiece is visually referenced in several scenes and individual shots, but there's one giant difference between the two challenging films from vastly different decades.
Welles effortlessly draws one into the still-relevant, decades-spanning mystery of a wealthy tycoon and makes one care about the diverse cast of characters, while Haynes finds little resonance beyond gloomy reflections about the dangers of too much freedom. In the most important aspect of a work of art that wants to elucidate and entertain -- keeping one's attention from straying when the bisexual, drug-taking leads are colorful but a little distant -- Haynes is only moderately successful.
While the grand design of the film will not work for all viewers, there are too many standout moments to call the work a disappointment. After the brilliant "Safe", Haynes can be forgiven trying to push the envelope of narrative filmmaking on a slightly bigger scale, and he often succeeds.
Rhys Myers and McGregor blaze across the screen with great fury in fabulous makeup and costumes, while Collette is a crucial presence in the two-hour film's winding second half. These three, along with Bale to a lesser degree, transform from bright creatures of the night to fallen angels, with an ironic twist at the end that underscores the eerily totalitarian "present day" setting in 1984.
The film's visual riffs are seductive, with robust cinematography by Maryse Alberti and splashy production design by Christopher Hobbs. The many songs on the soundtrack, including several penned by Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry, and on-screen performances by the likes of Brian Molko, Anthony Langdon, Steve Hewitt and Donna Matthews threaten to turn the movie into one long music video, but Haynes knows how to explore the souls of his characters as well as their revolutionary exteriors.
VELVET GOLDMINE
Miramax Films
A Zenith Prods./Killer Films production
in association with Single Cell Pictures
for Channel 4 Films, Goldwyn Films,
Miramax Films and Zenith Prods.
Writer-director: Todd Haynes
Producer: Christine Vachon
Executive producers: Scott Meek,
Michael Stipe, Sandy Stern
Director of photography: Maryse Alberti
Production designer: Christopher Hobbs
Editor: James Lyons
Costume designer: Sandy Powell
Hair and make-up designer: Peter King
Music: Carter Burwell
Casting: Susie Figgis, Laura Rosenthal
Color/stereo
Cast:
Curt Wild: Ewan McGregor
Brian Slade: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Mandy Slade: Toni Collette
Arthur Stuart: Christian Bale
Jerry Divine: Eddie Izzard
Running time -- 123 minutes
No MPAA rating...
An upcoming Miramax release, "Goldmine" may not live up to its name at the boxoffice, but Haynes' sumptuously glamorous style, a glittery cast and super soundtrack will lure hip crowds in major markets and ensure a strong post-theatrical performance.
Set in the sex-and-drugs London music scene of the 1970s, evoking David Bowie, Brian Eno and other glam rockers, "Goldmine" is the story of fictional Brian Slade Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who fakes an on-stage shooting at the height of his career and disappears from sight when the hoax is revealed and his fans turn against him.
Ten years later, former fan and journalist Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) goes searching for Slade. In the process, he revisits his idol's rise and fall through interviews with Slade's former lover, influential American star Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor), and former wife, Mandy (Toni Collette).
Haynes freely admits that "Citizen Kane" is the inspiration for the film's complex structure and occasional razzle-dazzle sequences. Indeed, Orson Welles' 1941 masterpiece is visually referenced in several scenes and individual shots, but there's one giant difference between the two challenging films from vastly different decades.
Welles effortlessly draws one into the still-relevant, decades-spanning mystery of a wealthy tycoon and makes one care about the diverse cast of characters, while Haynes finds little resonance beyond gloomy reflections about the dangers of too much freedom. In the most important aspect of a work of art that wants to elucidate and entertain -- keeping one's attention from straying when the bisexual, drug-taking leads are colorful but a little distant -- Haynes is only moderately successful.
While the grand design of the film will not work for all viewers, there are too many standout moments to call the work a disappointment. After the brilliant "Safe", Haynes can be forgiven trying to push the envelope of narrative filmmaking on a slightly bigger scale, and he often succeeds.
Rhys Myers and McGregor blaze across the screen with great fury in fabulous makeup and costumes, while Collette is a crucial presence in the two-hour film's winding second half. These three, along with Bale to a lesser degree, transform from bright creatures of the night to fallen angels, with an ironic twist at the end that underscores the eerily totalitarian "present day" setting in 1984.
The film's visual riffs are seductive, with robust cinematography by Maryse Alberti and splashy production design by Christopher Hobbs. The many songs on the soundtrack, including several penned by Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry, and on-screen performances by the likes of Brian Molko, Anthony Langdon, Steve Hewitt and Donna Matthews threaten to turn the movie into one long music video, but Haynes knows how to explore the souls of his characters as well as their revolutionary exteriors.
VELVET GOLDMINE
Miramax Films
A Zenith Prods./Killer Films production
in association with Single Cell Pictures
for Channel 4 Films, Goldwyn Films,
Miramax Films and Zenith Prods.
Writer-director: Todd Haynes
Producer: Christine Vachon
Executive producers: Scott Meek,
Michael Stipe, Sandy Stern
Director of photography: Maryse Alberti
Production designer: Christopher Hobbs
Editor: James Lyons
Costume designer: Sandy Powell
Hair and make-up designer: Peter King
Music: Carter Burwell
Casting: Susie Figgis, Laura Rosenthal
Color/stereo
Cast:
Curt Wild: Ewan McGregor
Brian Slade: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Mandy Slade: Toni Collette
Arthur Stuart: Christian Bale
Jerry Divine: Eddie Izzard
Running time -- 123 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 5/27/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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