In BlackBerry, the rise of a blue-chip tech company sets the stage for the dissolution of a longstanding friendship. Sound familiar? Just wait ‘til you hear the score. Directed by Matt Johnson, it tells the true story of Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin, software engineers who founded the company Rim in the mid-80s and later invented a cellphone that could handle email. The film begins on the day when they meet Jim Basillie (Glenn Howerton), a Rottweiler who, alongside Lazaridis’ genius, turned Rim’s invention (only later christened BlackBerry) into the world’s most ubiquitous mobile device––at least for a time.
Johnson, who also stars as the amiable Fregin opposite Jay Baruchel’s introverted Lazaridis, is the Canadian director behind Operation Avalanche––a film that seamlessly blended documentary aesthetics with newsreel footage to tell the story of how the CIA (and not quite Stanley Kubrick) maybe faked the moon landing.
Johnson, who also stars as the amiable Fregin opposite Jay Baruchel’s introverted Lazaridis, is the Canadian director behind Operation Avalanche––a film that seamlessly blended documentary aesthetics with newsreel footage to tell the story of how the CIA (and not quite Stanley Kubrick) maybe faked the moon landing.
- 2/18/2023
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
For a hot minute, it looked like BlackBerry might control the smartphone market. They got there first, figuring out how to use the existing data network to put email in users’ hands. Sure, it all came packaged in a device as thick and unwieldy as a slice of French toast — too big for most people’s pockets, not at all comfortable to hold up to one’s ear. Still, Canada-based electronics company Research in Motion revolutionized how mobile phones worked and what they could do, making billionaires of its co-founders. So what happened?
Frantic, irreverent and endearingly scrappy, “BlackBerry” spins comedy from the seat-of-their-pants launch and subsequent flame-out of “that phone that people had before they bought an iPhone,” as one character puts it. Directed by Matt Johnson — the renegade mock-doc helmer responsible for 2013 Slamdance winner “The Dirties” and moon-landing hoax “Project Avalanche” — from a script he co-wrote with longtime collaborator Matthew Miller,...
Frantic, irreverent and endearingly scrappy, “BlackBerry” spins comedy from the seat-of-their-pants launch and subsequent flame-out of “that phone that people had before they bought an iPhone,” as one character puts it. Directed by Matt Johnson — the renegade mock-doc helmer responsible for 2013 Slamdance winner “The Dirties” and moon-landing hoax “Project Avalanche” — from a script he co-wrote with longtime collaborator Matthew Miller,...
- 2/17/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
MaryAnn’s quick take… This Apollo-era would-be suspense-thriller mockumentary is more an exercise in “look how film-school cool and clever we are” than anything else. I’m “biast” (pro): I’m a big ol’ science and Sf geek
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Two young CIA agents go undercover at Nasa in 1967 in order to root out a suspected Russian mole, and instead end up embroiled in a conspiracy of their own making. That sounds pretty cool — I’m always a sucker for space stuff and paranoia — but this would-be suspense-thriller mockumentary is more an exercise in “look how film-school cool and clever we are” than anything else. Director and cowriter (with Josh Boles) Matt Johnson casts himself as “director” of a faux documentary about the Apollo program as cover for the spy mission — Owen Williams plays his partner...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Two young CIA agents go undercover at Nasa in 1967 in order to root out a suspected Russian mole, and instead end up embroiled in a conspiracy of their own making. That sounds pretty cool — I’m always a sucker for space stuff and paranoia — but this would-be suspense-thriller mockumentary is more an exercise in “look how film-school cool and clever we are” than anything else. Director and cowriter (with Josh Boles) Matt Johnson casts himself as “director” of a faux documentary about the Apollo program as cover for the spy mission — Owen Williams plays his partner...
- 1/5/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Buckle up for a Cold War conspiracy when Operation Avalanche launches on DVD, Digital HD and On Demand January 3 from Lionsgate. Filmmaker and actor Matt Johnson stars alongside Owen Williams and Josh Boles as undercover CIA agents on a mission at Nasa in what Variety is calling “a wild rewrite of space-age history.” A film festival favorite,Operation Avalanche was an official selection at the SXSW Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Hot Docs, and Mammoth Film Festival. The Operation Avalanche DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.
Official Synopsis
In 1967 two CIA agents go undercover at Nasa to investigate a possible Russian mole. In disguise as documentary filmmakers, they tap phones and break into offices while purporting to learn more about the Apollo project. But when they end up uncovering a shocking Nasa secret — and a major government cover-up — they decide to embark on a new mission...
Official Synopsis
In 1967 two CIA agents go undercover at Nasa to investigate a possible Russian mole. In disguise as documentary filmmakers, they tap phones and break into offices while purporting to learn more about the Apollo project. But when they end up uncovering a shocking Nasa secret — and a major government cover-up — they decide to embark on a new mission...
- 12/21/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
For all the criticism the found footage genre gets, like many a well-worn structure, there is still room to build. Operation Avalanche, from Matt Johnson and Josh Boles (The Dirties), aims to do just that and succeeds, for the most part.
In the late 60s, four young C.I.A. agents convince their superiors to send them undercover at Nasa, posing as a documentary film crew. Soon they learn that the mission to the moon is in jeopardy of pushing past 1969, thus faltering on JFK’s famed promise. Led by the ambitious Matt (Johnson), the “film crew” conspires to fake the moon landing.
Perhaps the most famous of all American conspiracy theories, Johnson and Boles’ docu-style rendering of the non-event feels confident and quick. These filmmakers have a knack for pacing, readily cutting out any fat from a given scene to keep the proceedings raw and gripping.
And yet, there is plenty to gripe about,...
In the late 60s, four young C.I.A. agents convince their superiors to send them undercover at Nasa, posing as a documentary film crew. Soon they learn that the mission to the moon is in jeopardy of pushing past 1969, thus faltering on JFK’s famed promise. Led by the ambitious Matt (Johnson), the “film crew” conspires to fake the moon landing.
Perhaps the most famous of all American conspiracy theories, Johnson and Boles’ docu-style rendering of the non-event feels confident and quick. These filmmakers have a knack for pacing, readily cutting out any fat from a given scene to keep the proceedings raw and gripping.
And yet, there is plenty to gripe about,...
- 1/25/2016
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Frequently, when I am writing a review, I will have to look someone up to jar my memory. I see so many films that it is possible for me to like something, even review it well, and then never think of it again. Such was the case with The Dirties. I actually went back today and read my review, and as soon as I did, I remembered all the things I liked about the movie and its director/star/co-writer Matt Johnson. The same things are true about Johnson's new film, Operation Avalanche, but even moreso, and I think Lionsgate stands a chance at turning it into a low-key hit if they handle it right. The Dirties was one of the rare found footage films where I thought the device was essential to the story and that the film commented on the notion of who is shooting and presenting the...
- 1/24/2016
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
In the video for their latest song "Black Is Good," indie band Young Rival created a random dot autostereogram music video with director Jared Raab and programmer Tomasz Dysinki. The technique should produce an optical illusion which alters depth perception -- a concept popularized in the 1990s with the Magic Eye book series. It's a really cool idea -- as long as you can properly "de-couple" your eyes and are able to view the "hidden" images in the video, as Wired points out. To see the video correctly, be sure to watch in 1080p HD on a full screen (not your mobile phone) and follow the instructions at the top of the video. The video's director Jared Raab explains the technology behind the video here, but here's the gist of it: To make your own autostereogram, one must first create a thing called a "depth map" which is a 2D representation of 3D depth information.
- 2/3/2014
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Phase 4 Films announced in May that the company acquired all U.S. and Canadian rights to Matt Johnson’s The Dirties. The film stars Johnson and Owen Williams from a screenplay written by Johnson, Evan Morgan and Josh Boles. The film was produced by Matthew Miller along with Johnson, Morgan and Jared Raab.
The Dirties made its world premiere at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, where it won the Narrative Grand Jury Prize. Phase 4 will release the film on October 4 in theaters and on VOD via its distribution partnership with filmmaker Kevin Smith’s Kevin Smith Movie Club.
Smith and Johnson unveiled the new trailer at Comic Con in San Diego. The film showed to a sold-out crowd on Sunday at the Fantasia International Film Festival and will have one more screening on July 29th. If you’re going to the festival, you can grab your tickets here: http://www.
The Dirties made its world premiere at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, where it won the Narrative Grand Jury Prize. Phase 4 will release the film on October 4 in theaters and on VOD via its distribution partnership with filmmaker Kevin Smith’s Kevin Smith Movie Club.
Smith and Johnson unveiled the new trailer at Comic Con in San Diego. The film showed to a sold-out crowd on Sunday at the Fantasia International Film Festival and will have one more screening on July 29th. If you’re going to the festival, you can grab your tickets here: http://www.
- 7/22/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Phase 4 Films has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to Matt Johnson's first feature "The Dirties," a drama about bullies and teenage revenge. The film, which premiered at Slamdance and won the Narrative Grand Jury Prize, is co-written, directed by and stars Johnson. "The Dirties" will have a theatrical release later this year and will be released on VOD via Kevin Smith's Kevin Smith Movie Club, which is in distribution partnership with Phase 4. Produced by Johnson, co-writer Evan Morgan, and Jared Raab, the film tells the story of two best friends who film a comedy about killing their school bullies, but to one of them it isn't just a joke. On the film's VOD distribution Kevin Smith said, "This is the most important film you will see all year. Matt Johnson has mashed-up the found footage film and the faux-documentary genres and crafted the most original, hypnotic,...
- 5/6/2013
- by Erin Whitney
- Indiewire
Phase 4 Films has acquired all U.S. and Canadian rights to Matt Johnson’s The Dirties. The film, which debuted at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, stars Johnson and Owen Williams from a screenplay written by Johnson, Evan Morgan and Josh Boles. The Dirties follows two best friends as they film a comedy about killing the bullies in their school. One of them isn't joking. Phase 4 will release the film this year in theaters and on VOD via its distribution partnership with filmmaker Kevin Smith’s Kevin Smith Movie Club. The film was produced by Matthew Miller along with Johnson, Morgan and Jared Raab.
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- 5/6/2013
- by Tatiana Siegel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Phase 4 Films has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to the Matt Johnson-directed The Dirties, which Johnson stars in with Owen Williams. The script is by Johnson, Evan Morgan and Josh Boles. The film was produced by Matthew Miller along with Johnson, Morgan and Jared Raab. The pic won the Narrative Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance, and Phase 4 will release the film later this year in theaters and on VOD via its distribution partnership with filmmaker Kevin Smith’s Kevin Smith Movie Club. The Dirties follows two best friends as they film a comedy about killing the bullies in their school. One of them isn’t joking. Said Smith: “I’ve always wanted to say this about a movie I made and mean it, but never could. Now, thanks to The Dirties, I can: This is the most important film you will see all year. Matt Johnson has...
- 5/6/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
The Dirties won Best Narrative Feature and the Spirit of Slamdance Award at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, and made its way this week to the Dallas International Film Festival. While producer and cinematographer Jared Raab was in Dallas, writer/director and lead actor Matthew Johnson was at a screening at the Victoria TX Independent Film Festival (Vtxiff).
The Dirties revolves around two friends who share a passion for movies, Matt (Matthew Johnson) and Owen (Owen Williams). They are subjected to constant bullying while working on a movie for a high-school class project. After their initial film fails, the boys decide to create a revenge movie around their real-life antagonists, whom they refer to as "The Dirties." While Owen reconnects with a childhood sweetheart, Matt becomes obsessed as the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.
Johnson and writer/producer Matthew Miller drew inspiration for The Dirties from the 1992 French satire Man Bites Dog,...
The Dirties revolves around two friends who share a passion for movies, Matt (Matthew Johnson) and Owen (Owen Williams). They are subjected to constant bullying while working on a movie for a high-school class project. After their initial film fails, the boys decide to create a revenge movie around their real-life antagonists, whom they refer to as "The Dirties." While Owen reconnects with a childhood sweetheart, Matt becomes obsessed as the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.
Johnson and writer/producer Matthew Miller drew inspiration for The Dirties from the 1992 French satire Man Bites Dog,...
- 4/10/2013
- by Debbie Cerda
- Slackerwood
If you plan to attend the next Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff), which will be held from September 8 to 18, you may think of voting for the Canadian film from an emerging director you'd like to see.
Here's the list of the five films:
* Esther and Leib - Sean Wainsteim - (Toronto, Ontario).
A raw portrait of Esther and Leib, a couple who met when escaping Europe, as they reflect on the passing years and each other.
* My First Movie - Gabriel Taraboulsy - (Montréal, Quebec)
Tasked with making a video portrait of her family, a young filmmaker plants a hidden camera, capturing a vision of her family that is far different from anything she imagined.
* Next of Kin - Kara Blake - (Montréal, Quebec)
Documenting the parallel lives of two sisters surviving a long, cold winter in Montreal.
* The Revenge Plot - Jared Raab - (Toronto, Ontario)
After Matt and...
Here's the list of the five films:
* Esther and Leib - Sean Wainsteim - (Toronto, Ontario).
A raw portrait of Esther and Leib, a couple who met when escaping Europe, as they reflect on the passing years and each other.
* My First Movie - Gabriel Taraboulsy - (Montréal, Quebec)
Tasked with making a video portrait of her family, a young filmmaker plants a hidden camera, capturing a vision of her family that is far different from anything she imagined.
* Next of Kin - Kara Blake - (Montréal, Quebec)
Documenting the parallel lives of two sisters surviving a long, cold winter in Montreal.
* The Revenge Plot - Jared Raab - (Toronto, Ontario)
After Matt and...
- 6/3/2011
- by anhkhoido@gmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
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