The history of cinematic comedy is rife with jerks who learn their lessons and grow up, but to win over audiences, those clowns usually had to exhibit at least a glimmer of down-deep goodness — not to mention partake in bad behavior that was actually amusing. The protagonist of the emphatically punctuated “Bruce!!!!” fails on both those counts, coming across as a grating boor who cares only about himself and never manages to say or do anything the least bit funny. Though writer-director-star Eden Marryshow is an agreeable screen presence, his indie feature is unlikely to win over many during its limited theatrical run.
Bruce (Marryshow) is a Brooklyn-based lout and mooch dressed in a collection of preppy outfits, and from the get-go, he rubs just about everyone the wrong way, including his current girlfriend, whom he dumps after she’s spent all night cooking him cupcakes; his exasperated parents; his...
Bruce (Marryshow) is a Brooklyn-based lout and mooch dressed in a collection of preppy outfits, and from the get-go, he rubs just about everyone the wrong way, including his current girlfriend, whom he dumps after she’s spent all night cooking him cupcakes; his exasperated parents; his...
- 3/14/2019
- by Nick Schager
- Variety Film + TV
Indie distributor Global Digital Releasing has partnered with Pope III Enterprises to release the award-winning con-artist comedy Bruce!!!!. The film will hit theaters nationwide March 15, 2019.
Bruce!!! centers around Bruce (played by Eden Marryshow “Jessica Jones”), an egocentric, self-professed writer, director, artist and playboy. Bruce damages all of his relationships, romantic or otherwise as he cons his way through his self-obsessed existence with a mixture of swagger and deeply insecure neuroticism.
The film, which was written by Eden Marryshow and Jesse Wakeman, has been the recipient of several awards including the Grand Jury Prize for “Best Director” at the American Black Film Festival (2017) and the HBO Award for “Best Film&rdq...
Bruce!!! centers around Bruce (played by Eden Marryshow “Jessica Jones”), an egocentric, self-professed writer, director, artist and playboy. Bruce damages all of his relationships, romantic or otherwise as he cons his way through his self-obsessed existence with a mixture of swagger and deeply insecure neuroticism.
The film, which was written by Eden Marryshow and Jesse Wakeman, has been the recipient of several awards including the Grand Jury Prize for “Best Director” at the American Black Film Festival (2017) and the HBO Award for “Best Film&rdq...
- 2/21/2019
- QuietEarth.us
On the day before the Oscars, the Film Indepdnent Spirit Awards were handed out. In what may be a warm up for the Academy Awards, Get Out took Best Film, marking an excellent night overall for the movie. Impending Oscar winners Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell both won as well for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, while the rest of the winners you can see below… Here are all of the Spirit Award winners: Best Feature “Call Me by Your Name” “The Florida Project” “Get Out” (Winner) “Lady Bird” “The Rider” Best First Feature (Award given to the director and producer) “Columbus” “Ingrid Goes West” (Winner) “Menashe” “Oh Lucy!” “Patti Cake$” John Cassavetes Award – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.) “Dayveon” “A Ghost Story” “Life and Nothing More” (Winner) “Most Beautiful Island” “The Transfiguration” Best Director Sean Baker,...
- 3/4/2018
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The 33rd Independent Spirit Awards took place on Saturday, March 3 in Los Angeles. The full winners list is below.
Best Feature
“Get Out”
Producers: Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Sean McKittrick, Jordan Peele
“Call Me by Your Name”
Producers: Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito, James Ivory, Howard Rosenman
“The Florida Project”
Producers: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri, Shih-Ching Tsou
“Lady Bird”
Producers: Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill, Scott Rudin
“The Rider”
Producers: Mollye Asher, Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Chloé Zhao
Best Female Lead
Frances McDormand
“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Salma Hayek
“Beatriz at Dinner”
Margot Robbie
“I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan
“Lady Bird”
Shinobu Terajima
“Oh Lucy!”
Regina Williams
“Life and Nothing More”
Best Male Lead
Timothée Chalamet
“Call Me by Your Name”
Harris Dickinson
“Beach Rats”
James Franco
“The Disaster Artist”
Daniel Kaluuya
“Get Out...
Best Feature
“Get Out”
Producers: Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Sean McKittrick, Jordan Peele
“Call Me by Your Name”
Producers: Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito, James Ivory, Howard Rosenman
“The Florida Project”
Producers: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri, Shih-Ching Tsou
“Lady Bird”
Producers: Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill, Scott Rudin
“The Rider”
Producers: Mollye Asher, Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Chloé Zhao
Best Female Lead
Frances McDormand
“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Salma Hayek
“Beatriz at Dinner”
Margot Robbie
“I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan
“Lady Bird”
Shinobu Terajima
“Oh Lucy!”
Regina Williams
“Life and Nothing More”
Best Male Lead
Timothée Chalamet
“Call Me by Your Name”
Harris Dickinson
“Beach Rats”
James Franco
“The Disaster Artist”
Daniel Kaluuya
“Get Out...
- 3/4/2018
- by William Earl
- Indiewire
“The Big Sick” writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon took home top honors at the 2018 Indie Spirit Awards for Best First Screenplay. The married writing team beat out fellow nominees Ingrid Jungermann (“Women Who Kill”), Kogonada (“Columbus”), David Branson Smith and Matt Spicer (“Ingrid Goes West”), and Kris Avedisian with story by Kyle Espeleta and Jesse Wakeman (“Donald Cried”).
This marks the first Indie Spirit Award for both Nanjiani and Gordon. “The Big Sick” won Best Comedy at the Critics’ Choice Awards, and was named one of the American Film Institute’s Top Ten Films of the Year. The duo is nominated for Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards Sunday night. Loosely based on the real-life romance between Nanjiani and Gordon, the film follows a couple who must deal with cultural differences after one of them becomes ill.
Different from the Oscars, the Independent Spirit Awards exclusively celebrates the best of independent cinema.
This marks the first Indie Spirit Award for both Nanjiani and Gordon. “The Big Sick” won Best Comedy at the Critics’ Choice Awards, and was named one of the American Film Institute’s Top Ten Films of the Year. The duo is nominated for Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards Sunday night. Loosely based on the real-life romance between Nanjiani and Gordon, the film follows a couple who must deal with cultural differences after one of them becomes ill.
Different from the Oscars, the Independent Spirit Awards exclusively celebrates the best of independent cinema.
- 3/3/2018
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon are Oscar underdogs for Best Original Screenplay for their work on the semi-autobiographical romantic comedy “The Big Sick.” but we think they’re clear favorites to win at the Independent Spirit Awards the night before. They get leading odds of 2/13 to win Best First Screenplay at those kudos based on the combined predictions of more than 1,600 users who have made their picks at Gold Derby thus far.
Among those users are nine Expert journalists we’ve polled from top media outlets, and they’re unanimous that Nanjiani and Gordon will prevail: Erik Davis (Fandango), Edward Douglas, Joyce Eng (Gold Derby), Tariq Khan (Fox News), Sasha Stone (Awards Daily), Anne Thompson (IndieWire), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), Adnan Virk (ESPN) and Susan Wloszczyna (RogerEbert.com). They also have support from five out of six Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby, 22 of the Top 24 Users...
Among those users are nine Expert journalists we’ve polled from top media outlets, and they’re unanimous that Nanjiani and Gordon will prevail: Erik Davis (Fandango), Edward Douglas, Joyce Eng (Gold Derby), Tariq Khan (Fox News), Sasha Stone (Awards Daily), Anne Thompson (IndieWire), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), Adnan Virk (ESPN) and Susan Wloszczyna (RogerEbert.com). They also have support from five out of six Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby, 22 of the Top 24 Users...
- 2/25/2018
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
All These Sleepless Nights (Michal Marczak)
Blurring the line between documentary and fiction like few films before it, Michal Marczak‘s All These Sleepless Nights is a music-filled ode to the ever-shifting bliss and angst of youth set mostly in the wee hours of the day in Warsaw, Poland. Marczak himself, who also plays cinematographer, is wary to delineate the line between narrative and nonfiction, and part of the...
All These Sleepless Nights (Michal Marczak)
Blurring the line between documentary and fiction like few films before it, Michal Marczak‘s All These Sleepless Nights is a music-filled ode to the ever-shifting bliss and angst of youth set mostly in the wee hours of the day in Warsaw, Poland. Marczak himself, who also plays cinematographer, is wary to delineate the line between narrative and nonfiction, and part of the...
- 8/18/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Dozens of movies are hitting Netflix during the dog days of summer (click here for a complete list), but the sheer variety of new titles can be daunting. Movies are long, time is short, and indecision is brutal, so — in the hopes of helping you out — here are the seven best films that are coming to Netflix in August.
7. “Practical Magic” (1998)
Okay, so “Practical Magic” isn’t a “good movie” in the traditional sense…or in any other sense, for that matter. But it’s a perfect Netflix movie, which is another beast entirely. An incredible time capsule — and bottomless gif resource — from an ancient epoch that historians refer to as “1998,” this essential relic tells the story of sisters Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) Owens, twin witches who are effectively cursed to remain single forever.
Did I mention that it was directed by Griffin Dunne? Did I mention that it was nominated for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for including a Faith Hill song on the soundtrack? Did I mention that it features a scene in which Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing use their secret powers to blend alcoholic drinks in order to lubricate a singalong set to Harry Nilsson’s “Put the Lime in the Coconut”? “Practical Magic” was kind of a blip when it first opened, but it would shake our culture to its skeleton if it came out today. A remake feels inevitable, but in the meantime, the original makes for perfect streaming on a lazy August afternoon. Better yet, add it to your queue and swing back once Halloween rolls around.
Begins streaming August 1st.
6. “The Bomb” (2016)
“the bomb” was one of the most exciting, unclassifiable experiences on the festival circuit last year, but the sheer magnitude of the project made it unclear where it might live once it had finished traveling the world, or if it would be possible for the public to see it. Fortunately, the answers to those questions turned out to be “everywhere” and “very.” Here’s IndieWire’s Steve Greene on the 59-minute film into which this enormous piece of experimental art has been newly reshaped:
Read More‘the bomb’ Review: New Doc on Netflix Is a Surreal Music Video About the End of the World
Directed by Kevin Ford, Smriti Keshari, and Eric Schlosser, this experimental, sensory history of the nuclear bomb is a staggering look at the world’s most destructive weapon and the lessons of almost eight decades that some still choose to ignore. Threading together modern-day news footage, Cold War era safety videos and grainy archival peeks into the construction process, “the bomb” looks at nuclear weapons in their myriad historic forms. Foregoing the usual talking head interviews or explanatory narration, the one piece of connective tissue throughout the film, besides the subject itself, is the film’s score, from Los Angeles electronic minimalist outfit The Acid. Throughout a harrowing parade of images and fleeting moments of whimsy, the droning, pulsating music underneath brings an alternating sense of dread and power.
Begins streaming August 1st.
5. “Cloud Atlas” (2012)
It’s easy to make fun of “Cloud Atlas,” and not just because one of the six characters that Tom Hanks plays is pretty much a live-action Jar Jar Binks. Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis’ cosmically ambitious sci-fi epic is — in its own delirious way — one of the most earnest movies ever made. Adapted from David Mitchell’s novel of the same name, and now something of an obvious precursor to the Wachowskis’ Netflix series “Sense 8,” this symphonic story of spiritual connection spans from 1849 to 2321 in a go-for-broke attempt to crystallize the effects that one life can have on countless others.
Controversially casting individual actors in multiple roles (with many of the film’s most famous stars disguising themselves as different races and genders), “Cloud Atlas” fearlessly envisions our world as a place where bodies are temporary, but love is eternal. It’s a lot to swallow, but our collective cynicism only makes the movie more valuable, and more important to have on hand.
Begins streaming August 1st.
4. “Donald Cried” (2016)
Kris Avedisian flew under the radar when “Donald Cried” made the rounds last year — his self-directed turn as the most deeply committed man-child since “Clifford” may have been just a bit too raw and cringe-inducing for any major traction — but it’s only a matter of time before people discover one of the most fearless performances in recent memory. Here’s IndieWire’s Eric Kohn on a future dark comedy classic:
The obnoxious man-child is a common trope in American comedies, but few recent examples can match the hilariously unsettling presence of Donald Treebeck, the obnoxious central figure played by writer-director Kris Avedisian in his effective black comedy “Donald Cried.” While the story technically unfolds from the perspective of his old teen pal Peter (Jesse Wakeman), who returns to their Rhode Island suburbs from his Wall Street career after his grandmother dies, Donald welcomes his reluctant friend back to their world and won’t leave him alone. Avedisian gives Danny McBride a run for his money in this pitch-perfect embodiment of a wannabe charmer all too eager to remain the center of attention. Hardly reinventing the wheel, “Donald Cried” nevertheless spins it faster than usual, taking cues from its memorably irritating protagonist. Beneath its entertainment value, the movie also hints at the tragedy of aimless adulthood.
Begins streaming August 15th.
3. “The Matrix” (1999)
At this point, “The Matrix” has effectively become immune to any sort of qualitative criticism; there’s no use arguing that it’s “good” or “bad” or somewhere in between, it simply is. Less a movie than a cornerstone of contemporary pop culture (for better or worse), the Wachowskis’ absurdly influential orgy of mind-blowing action and high school philosophy arrived at the tail end of the 20th century in order to help define the 21st. Its aesthetic impact on the current breed of blockbusters is self-evident, but its more profound contributions have been largely off-screen, as the film brought futurism to the masses in a way that’s only possible to trace through its most unfortunate side effects (e.g. the diseased misogyny of “red pill” thinking).
Of course, “No can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” Now that it’s on Netflix, it couldn’t be easier to do just that.
Begins streaming August 1st.
2. “Jackie Brown” (1997)
Every hardcore Tarantino fan’s favorite Tarantino film, “Jackie Brown” is more than just an homage to blaxploitation or the best Elmore Leonard adaptation ever made (sorry, “Out of Sight”), it’s also something of a tribute to all of the crime writer’s work and the scuzzy but soulful ethos that bound it together. To this day, “Jackie Brown” remains a major outlier for Qt. For one thing, it’s based on pre-existing material. For another, it’s got a bonafide sex scene. Last but not least, it’s about recognizably human characters who have genuine depth, who have real lives that feel as though they continue beyond the confines of a movie screen (no disrespect to the cartoonish avatars who populate Tarantino’s later, more solipsistic work — they serve their purpose to perfection).
Pam Grier is spectacular in the title role of a flight attendant with a drug smuggling side hustle. Robert Forster is heartbreaking as lovelorn bondsman Max Cherry. Hell, even Robert De Niro is phenomenal, the iconic actor beautifully playing against his legend by inhabiting the film’s most pathetic and disposable character. For anyone put off by the blockbuster scale of Tarantino’s recent work, “Jackie Brown” is a rock-solid reminder of his genius for elevating fevered pastiche into singular pathos. And the soundtrack owns.
Begins streaming August 1st.
1. “All These Sleepless Nights” (2016)
It would be reductive and unfair to say that Michal Marczak’s “All These Sleepless Nights” is the film that Terrence Malick has been trying to make for the last 10 years, but it certainly feels that way while you’re watching it. A mesmeric, free-floating odyssey that wends its way through a hazy year in the molten lives of two Polish twentysomethings, this unclassifiable wonder obscures the divide between fiction and documentary until the distinction is ultimately irrelevant.
Read MoreReview: ‘All These Sleepless Nights’ Is the Movie That Terrence Malick Has Been Trying to Make
Unfolding like a plotless reality show that was shot by Emmanuel Lubezki, this lucid dream of a movie paints an unmoored portrait of a city in the throes of an orgastic reawakening. From the opening images of fireworks exploding over downtown Warsaw, to the stunning final glimpse of Marczak’s main subject — Krzysztof Baginski (playing himself, as everyone does), who looks and moves like a young Baryshnikov — twirling between an endless row of stopped cars during the middle of a massive traffic jam, the film is high on the spirit of liberation. More than just a hypnotically hyper-real distillation of what it means to be young, “All These Sleepless Nights” is a haunted vision of what it means to have been young.
Begins streaming August 15th.
Sign Up Stay on top of the latest film and TV news! Sign up for our film and TV email newsletter here.
Related stories'American Vandal' Trailer: Netflix's Dick Joke Docuseries is Either Their Best Idea Ever or Their Worst'Narcos' Trailer: Season 3 Swaps Out One Drug Kingpin for Four More'First They Killed My Father' Trailer: Angelina Jolie Remembers the Horrors of the Cambodian Genocide...
7. “Practical Magic” (1998)
Okay, so “Practical Magic” isn’t a “good movie” in the traditional sense…or in any other sense, for that matter. But it’s a perfect Netflix movie, which is another beast entirely. An incredible time capsule — and bottomless gif resource — from an ancient epoch that historians refer to as “1998,” this essential relic tells the story of sisters Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) Owens, twin witches who are effectively cursed to remain single forever.
Did I mention that it was directed by Griffin Dunne? Did I mention that it was nominated for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for including a Faith Hill song on the soundtrack? Did I mention that it features a scene in which Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing use their secret powers to blend alcoholic drinks in order to lubricate a singalong set to Harry Nilsson’s “Put the Lime in the Coconut”? “Practical Magic” was kind of a blip when it first opened, but it would shake our culture to its skeleton if it came out today. A remake feels inevitable, but in the meantime, the original makes for perfect streaming on a lazy August afternoon. Better yet, add it to your queue and swing back once Halloween rolls around.
Begins streaming August 1st.
6. “The Bomb” (2016)
“the bomb” was one of the most exciting, unclassifiable experiences on the festival circuit last year, but the sheer magnitude of the project made it unclear where it might live once it had finished traveling the world, or if it would be possible for the public to see it. Fortunately, the answers to those questions turned out to be “everywhere” and “very.” Here’s IndieWire’s Steve Greene on the 59-minute film into which this enormous piece of experimental art has been newly reshaped:
Read More‘the bomb’ Review: New Doc on Netflix Is a Surreal Music Video About the End of the World
Directed by Kevin Ford, Smriti Keshari, and Eric Schlosser, this experimental, sensory history of the nuclear bomb is a staggering look at the world’s most destructive weapon and the lessons of almost eight decades that some still choose to ignore. Threading together modern-day news footage, Cold War era safety videos and grainy archival peeks into the construction process, “the bomb” looks at nuclear weapons in their myriad historic forms. Foregoing the usual talking head interviews or explanatory narration, the one piece of connective tissue throughout the film, besides the subject itself, is the film’s score, from Los Angeles electronic minimalist outfit The Acid. Throughout a harrowing parade of images and fleeting moments of whimsy, the droning, pulsating music underneath brings an alternating sense of dread and power.
Begins streaming August 1st.
5. “Cloud Atlas” (2012)
It’s easy to make fun of “Cloud Atlas,” and not just because one of the six characters that Tom Hanks plays is pretty much a live-action Jar Jar Binks. Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis’ cosmically ambitious sci-fi epic is — in its own delirious way — one of the most earnest movies ever made. Adapted from David Mitchell’s novel of the same name, and now something of an obvious precursor to the Wachowskis’ Netflix series “Sense 8,” this symphonic story of spiritual connection spans from 1849 to 2321 in a go-for-broke attempt to crystallize the effects that one life can have on countless others.
Controversially casting individual actors in multiple roles (with many of the film’s most famous stars disguising themselves as different races and genders), “Cloud Atlas” fearlessly envisions our world as a place where bodies are temporary, but love is eternal. It’s a lot to swallow, but our collective cynicism only makes the movie more valuable, and more important to have on hand.
Begins streaming August 1st.
4. “Donald Cried” (2016)
Kris Avedisian flew under the radar when “Donald Cried” made the rounds last year — his self-directed turn as the most deeply committed man-child since “Clifford” may have been just a bit too raw and cringe-inducing for any major traction — but it’s only a matter of time before people discover one of the most fearless performances in recent memory. Here’s IndieWire’s Eric Kohn on a future dark comedy classic:
The obnoxious man-child is a common trope in American comedies, but few recent examples can match the hilariously unsettling presence of Donald Treebeck, the obnoxious central figure played by writer-director Kris Avedisian in his effective black comedy “Donald Cried.” While the story technically unfolds from the perspective of his old teen pal Peter (Jesse Wakeman), who returns to their Rhode Island suburbs from his Wall Street career after his grandmother dies, Donald welcomes his reluctant friend back to their world and won’t leave him alone. Avedisian gives Danny McBride a run for his money in this pitch-perfect embodiment of a wannabe charmer all too eager to remain the center of attention. Hardly reinventing the wheel, “Donald Cried” nevertheless spins it faster than usual, taking cues from its memorably irritating protagonist. Beneath its entertainment value, the movie also hints at the tragedy of aimless adulthood.
Begins streaming August 15th.
3. “The Matrix” (1999)
At this point, “The Matrix” has effectively become immune to any sort of qualitative criticism; there’s no use arguing that it’s “good” or “bad” or somewhere in between, it simply is. Less a movie than a cornerstone of contemporary pop culture (for better or worse), the Wachowskis’ absurdly influential orgy of mind-blowing action and high school philosophy arrived at the tail end of the 20th century in order to help define the 21st. Its aesthetic impact on the current breed of blockbusters is self-evident, but its more profound contributions have been largely off-screen, as the film brought futurism to the masses in a way that’s only possible to trace through its most unfortunate side effects (e.g. the diseased misogyny of “red pill” thinking).
Of course, “No can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” Now that it’s on Netflix, it couldn’t be easier to do just that.
Begins streaming August 1st.
2. “Jackie Brown” (1997)
Every hardcore Tarantino fan’s favorite Tarantino film, “Jackie Brown” is more than just an homage to blaxploitation or the best Elmore Leonard adaptation ever made (sorry, “Out of Sight”), it’s also something of a tribute to all of the crime writer’s work and the scuzzy but soulful ethos that bound it together. To this day, “Jackie Brown” remains a major outlier for Qt. For one thing, it’s based on pre-existing material. For another, it’s got a bonafide sex scene. Last but not least, it’s about recognizably human characters who have genuine depth, who have real lives that feel as though they continue beyond the confines of a movie screen (no disrespect to the cartoonish avatars who populate Tarantino’s later, more solipsistic work — they serve their purpose to perfection).
Pam Grier is spectacular in the title role of a flight attendant with a drug smuggling side hustle. Robert Forster is heartbreaking as lovelorn bondsman Max Cherry. Hell, even Robert De Niro is phenomenal, the iconic actor beautifully playing against his legend by inhabiting the film’s most pathetic and disposable character. For anyone put off by the blockbuster scale of Tarantino’s recent work, “Jackie Brown” is a rock-solid reminder of his genius for elevating fevered pastiche into singular pathos. And the soundtrack owns.
Begins streaming August 1st.
1. “All These Sleepless Nights” (2016)
It would be reductive and unfair to say that Michal Marczak’s “All These Sleepless Nights” is the film that Terrence Malick has been trying to make for the last 10 years, but it certainly feels that way while you’re watching it. A mesmeric, free-floating odyssey that wends its way through a hazy year in the molten lives of two Polish twentysomethings, this unclassifiable wonder obscures the divide between fiction and documentary until the distinction is ultimately irrelevant.
Read MoreReview: ‘All These Sleepless Nights’ Is the Movie That Terrence Malick Has Been Trying to Make
Unfolding like a plotless reality show that was shot by Emmanuel Lubezki, this lucid dream of a movie paints an unmoored portrait of a city in the throes of an orgastic reawakening. From the opening images of fireworks exploding over downtown Warsaw, to the stunning final glimpse of Marczak’s main subject — Krzysztof Baginski (playing himself, as everyone does), who looks and moves like a young Baryshnikov — twirling between an endless row of stopped cars during the middle of a massive traffic jam, the film is high on the spirit of liberation. More than just a hypnotically hyper-real distillation of what it means to be young, “All These Sleepless Nights” is a haunted vision of what it means to have been young.
Begins streaming August 15th.
Sign Up Stay on top of the latest film and TV news! Sign up for our film and TV email newsletter here.
Related stories'American Vandal' Trailer: Netflix's Dick Joke Docuseries is Either Their Best Idea Ever or Their Worst'Narcos' Trailer: Season 3 Swaps Out One Drug Kingpin for Four More'First They Killed My Father' Trailer: Angelina Jolie Remembers the Horrors of the Cambodian Genocide...
- 8/3/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
A Cure for Wellness (Gore Verbinski)
The asylum-based film is a fairly interesting mini-genre to deconstruct. These movies almost always deal with perceptions of reality, questions of the self, and an innate fear of those in positions of power who operate in worlds of the ethereal. The question of the protagonist’s madness is almost always central, and the uncertainty over whether their paranoia is unfounded or justified is...
A Cure for Wellness (Gore Verbinski)
The asylum-based film is a fairly interesting mini-genre to deconstruct. These movies almost always deal with perceptions of reality, questions of the self, and an innate fear of those in positions of power who operate in worlds of the ethereal. The question of the protagonist’s madness is almost always central, and the uncertainty over whether their paranoia is unfounded or justified is...
- 6/2/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Audiences may not realize it, but Rough House Pictures has been a pivotal force in American filmmaking over the past decade.
People know Danny McBride as the snarky, self-aggrandizing star of HBO’s “Eastbound and Down” and “Vice Principals,” shows he created with fellow North Carolina School of the Arts alumni Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. But while McBride’s is the most public face, all three men have become influential figures in the film industry.
Green and McBride are writing the Blumhouse reboot of “Halloween,” while Hill is finishing his third film, a comedy starring Josh Brolin. Green has oscillated from the quiet, Southern gothic tales of “George Washington” and “All the Real Girls” to boisterous comedies like “Pineapple Express.” Hill’s debut, “Foot Fist Way,” got the attention of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, who launched Hill’s TV career and gave him the momentum to direct his first studio film,...
People know Danny McBride as the snarky, self-aggrandizing star of HBO’s “Eastbound and Down” and “Vice Principals,” shows he created with fellow North Carolina School of the Arts alumni Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. But while McBride’s is the most public face, all three men have become influential figures in the film industry.
Green and McBride are writing the Blumhouse reboot of “Halloween,” while Hill is finishing his third film, a comedy starring Josh Brolin. Green has oscillated from the quiet, Southern gothic tales of “George Washington” and “All the Real Girls” to boisterous comedies like “Pineapple Express.” Hill’s debut, “Foot Fist Way,” got the attention of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, who launched Hill’s TV career and gave him the momentum to direct his first studio film,...
- 3/3/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
After becoming a low-key favorite on the festival circuit last year — it played at New Directors/New Films, South by Southwest and AFI Fest — “Donald Cried” is finally headed to theaters courtesy of the Orchard. Kris Avedisian co-wrote, directed and stars as the title character in the film, in which a 30-something man (Jesse Wakeman) returns to his hometown in Rhode Island for a day. Watch the trailer below.
Read More: SXSW 2016 Review: ‘Donald Cried’ is a Hilarious Look at Arrested Development
A man-child with a heart of gold and an overbearing personality, Donald inspires mixed feelings. He is, for instance, the only one Wakeman’s character can think of to ask for help when he realizes he’s forgotten his wallet and needs a ride while dealing with the aftermath of his grandmother’s death; he’s also difficult to be around for more than 10 minutes at time. The...
Read More: SXSW 2016 Review: ‘Donald Cried’ is a Hilarious Look at Arrested Development
A man-child with a heart of gold and an overbearing personality, Donald inspires mixed feelings. He is, for instance, the only one Wakeman’s character can think of to ask for help when he realizes he’s forgotten his wallet and needs a ride while dealing with the aftermath of his grandmother’s death; he’s also difficult to be around for more than 10 minutes at time. The...
- 1/31/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
There aren't too many guys who walk the line of Dark Comedy better than Jody Hill and Danny McBride. Both Eastbound And Down and Vice Principals were acclaimed for their use of mixing comedy with the dramatic and the outrageous, and Donald Cried looks to capture that same feel both shows pull off so well. Here's a description for the film...
Director/writer/star Kris Avedisian expertly deconstructs the contemporary obsession with the "man-child" in this darkly funny story about former childhood best friends who reconnect decades later in their working-class Rhode Island neighborhood. Peter Latang (Jesse Wakeman) left his childhood home to reinvent himself as a slick Wall Street mover and shaker. When he's forced to return home to bury his grandmother, he loses his wallet on the trip. Stranded and broke, Peter looks to the only person he can think of to help him out—his next-door neighbor...
Director/writer/star Kris Avedisian expertly deconstructs the contemporary obsession with the "man-child" in this darkly funny story about former childhood best friends who reconnect decades later in their working-class Rhode Island neighborhood. Peter Latang (Jesse Wakeman) left his childhood home to reinvent himself as a slick Wall Street mover and shaker. When he's forced to return home to bury his grandmother, he loses his wallet on the trip. Stranded and broke, Peter looks to the only person he can think of to help him out—his next-door neighbor...
- 1/31/2017
- by Mick Joest
- GeekTyrant
"Can you please look at me for a second, Pete?" The Orchard has released a trailer for a wacky, dark comedy titled Donald Cried, from writer/director/star Kris Avedisian. The film is presented by David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, Danny McBride and Brandon James, which is a powerhouse comedy team-up. Avedisian stars as the titular Donald, a childhood friend of a man who returns to his hometown after his grandmother passes away. Awkwardness ensues, and things get a little fun. The cast includes Jesse Wakeman, Louisa Krause, Ted Arcidi, Shawn Contois, and Kate Fitzgerald. This played at festivals all over the world throughout 2016, so even though it may seem a bit weird, it's definitely a quality film worth your attention. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Kris Avedisian's Donald Cried, direct from YouTube: With sudden passing of his grandmother, Peter Latang (Jesse Wakeman) returns to his hometown and encounters his long lost,...
- 1/31/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Produced by Danny McBride, David Gordon Green, and Jody Hill, a new trailer has arrived for Donald Cried, the feature debut of writer-director Kris Avedisian. The comedy centers on a man who returns home after the sudden death of his grandmother, which causes him to reach out to his old neighbor, the titular crier Donald. What ensues is a strange trip through the man’s past, as he is reminded very quickly why he got out of town in the first place.
We said in our review, “Donald Cried certainly doesn’t seek to elevate itself too much beyond the indie fray, yet it still finds pleasures in compactness, believably stretching the course of a lazy Saturday in January over the course of 85 minutes. It still manages to meet the narrative expectation of Peter eventually blowing up at Donald and then them reconciling before he he heads back for New York,...
We said in our review, “Donald Cried certainly doesn’t seek to elevate itself too much beyond the indie fray, yet it still finds pleasures in compactness, believably stretching the course of a lazy Saturday in January over the course of 85 minutes. It still manages to meet the narrative expectation of Peter eventually blowing up at Donald and then them reconciling before he he heads back for New York,...
- 1/30/2017
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
The team over at Rough House Pictures — including David Gordon Green, Jody Hill and Danny McBride — have long trafficked in offbeat comedy offerings and championing compelling filmmaking voices, so the latest film to join their slate should come as little surprise. Rough House has now come aboard Kris Avedisian’s “Donald Cried” as executive producers and will help shepherd the wild feature film to its theatrical release next month.
Read More: SXSW 2016 Review: ‘Donald Cried’ is a Hilarious Look at Arrested Development
Based on his short of the same name, Avedisian premiered the film — his first feature offering, which he not only wrote and directed, but also stars in — at last year’s SXSW, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Award. The film went on to screen at a variety of festivals, including New Directors/New Films, Locarno, Hamptons, Montclair and AFI Fest (where it won the Audience...
Read More: SXSW 2016 Review: ‘Donald Cried’ is a Hilarious Look at Arrested Development
Based on his short of the same name, Avedisian premiered the film — his first feature offering, which he not only wrote and directed, but also stars in — at last year’s SXSW, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Award. The film went on to screen at a variety of festivals, including New Directors/New Films, Locarno, Hamptons, Montclair and AFI Fest (where it won the Audience...
- 1/17/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Donald CriedFor those unable or unwilling, like yours (un)truly, to sift through the boundless vapidity of what is vaguely termed “American Independent Cinema,” Locarno serves as a somewhat reliable filter, letting through the tight Swiss borders the hottest offerings from across the Atlantic. Like the country that produces it, American cinema possesses an indefatigable vitality and a fearless belief of the future with no room or even time for self-congratulatory nostalgia. Firmly rooted in the present, the American films Locarno showcased over the last few years re/present probably the most damning evidence of what remains relevant or even necessary about contemporary cinema.Donald Cried, Kris Avedisian's debut feature presented in the Cineasti del Presente section, is nothing short of brilliant in that it literally illuminates the murkiest aspects of a corrupted yet most intense friendship. It is around this noblest bond, increasingly subjected to the fluctuations of...
- 8/10/2016
- MUBI
Donald Cried opens in medias res on Peter (Jesse Wakeman), in a cab ride through a snowy suburb, realizing that he lost his wallet, and from there gives successive details of him present due to the death of his grandmother and this, our setting, being his childhood home in small-town Rhode Island — a good omen for this comedy being in the milieu of the Farrelly brothers.
A Wall Street type, he calls a Manhattan connection who, unfortunately, is unwilling to wire him the $100 necessary to get through the day, forcing him to turn to high school friend Donald (Kris Avedisian, also the film’s director) for help after by chance encountering him in the driveway. The first instance of this film’s ample physical comedy comes when Donald, in his bathrobe, climbs over a mound of snow to embrace Peter; you see he’s been waiting twenty years for this moment.
A Wall Street type, he calls a Manhattan connection who, unfortunately, is unwilling to wire him the $100 necessary to get through the day, forcing him to turn to high school friend Donald (Kris Avedisian, also the film’s director) for help after by chance encountering him in the driveway. The first instance of this film’s ample physical comedy comes when Donald, in his bathrobe, climbs over a mound of snow to embrace Peter; you see he’s been waiting twenty years for this moment.
- 8/5/2016
- by Ethan Vestby
- The Film Stage
The Orchard has acquired North American rights to writer/director Kris Avedisian's dark comedy Donald Cried, which premiered this year at SXSW Film Festival. The company will be released theatrically early next year. With a story by Avedisian, Jesse Wakeman and Kyle Espeleta, the film was produced by Electric Chinoland's Kyle Martin (Tiny Furniture). After Donald Cried debuted at SXSW, the filmmaking team was signed by CAA and Cinetic. Jesse Wakeman stars in the film…...
- 4/25/2016
- Deadline
Exclusive: Following the SXSW debut of Donald Cried, the pic’s filmmakers Kris Avedisian, Jesse Wakeman and Kyle Espeleta have signed with CAA and Cinetic. Based on their Slamdance short of the same name, the film stars Wakeman as Peter Latang who, after the sudden passing of his grandmother, returns home to working-class Warwick, Ri where he encounters childhood friend Donald Treebeck (Avedisian) for what starts as a simple favor and turns into a long van ride into two…...
- 3/30/2016
- Deadline
BehemothAs more prominent film festivals gear up for spring, a smaller though by no means slighter affair begins in New York. New Directors/New Films, curated by Museum of the Modern Art and Film Society of Lincoln Center, unfurls its carefully considered program of 27 features and 10 shorts, with its premise and draw on emerging voices in cinema. Indeed, the festival may very well be a last stop for filmmakers on the rise before they are introduced to wider audiences. Nd/Nf has brought us in the recent past Fort Buchanan and Diary of a Teenage Girl, and longer ago films by Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Chantal Akerman. Most of this year’s selection has premiered at festivals, many have been covered by this very site, and all are compelling. Here are several highlights.***With a narrative rooted loosely on Dante’s Divine Comedy, Zhao Liang’s documentary Behemoth depicts the...
- 3/17/2016
- by Elissa Suh
- MUBI
An acclaimed short that developed into the filmmaker’s first feature, Donald Cried, a buddy comedy set in director Kris Avedisian’s home state of Rhode Island, had its world premiere last weekend in the Narrative Feature Competition section of SXSW. Jesse Wakeman and Avedisian (as the title character) reprise their leading roles as the odd couple pairing, friends reunited in their hometown thanks to the death of a grandmother. Taking John Hughes’ Planes, Trains & Automobiles as its road trip, structural inspiration, the film finds the two men sharing a van as tensions from their past arise. Donald Cried will next screen in the Film Society of […]...
- 3/15/2016
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The premiere post-tiff destination (September 20-25th) in the film community and a major leg up for narrative and non-fiction films in development, the Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) announced a whopping 140 projects selected for the Project Forum at the upcoming Ifp Independent Film Week. Made up of several sections (Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers program, No Borders International Co-Production Market and Spotlight on Documentaries), we find latest updates from the likes of docu-helmers Doug Block (112 Weddings) and Lana Wilson (After Tiller), and among the narrative items we find headliners in Andrew Haigh (coming off the well received 45 Years), Sophie Barthes (Cold Souls and Madame Bovary), Terence Nance (An Oversimplification of Her Beauty), Lawrence Michael Levine (Wild Canaries), Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are), Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal (Stranger Things) and new faces in Sundance’s large family in Charles Poekel (Christmas, Again) and Olivia Newman (First Match). Here...
- 7/22/2015
- by admin
- IONCINEMA.com
A new series from Streamy Award-Nominee Tina Cesa Ward (who, along with Susan Miller, brought you the hit independent drama web series Anyone But Me) explores the concept of commitment and marriage on the day New York passed the Equal Marriage Bill. Good People in Love focuses on two couples, one heterosexual and one homosexual, to explore the challenges and fears of being in a committed relationship. Two characters, Sarah (Streamy Award Winner Rachael Hip-Flores) and Scott (Jesse Wakeman), use the two couples and the idiosyncrasies of their relationships to prove their different points of view during a small engagement party. “I think with six very distinct characters that all have their own fears, ambitions and ideas about love and marriage the audience should find someone to connect with and recognize the situations these couples face on a personal level,” said Tina Cesa Ward over email. To say the series...
- 12/6/2011
- by Chris Landa
- Tubefilter.com
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