Sundance Channel

The Mortified Sessions premieres tonight at 8pm

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:27:28 +0000

A young Will Forte

What would we find if we opened up your secret shoebox of middle school memories or leafed through your high school journal? The sometimes humiliating and often hilarious reminders of our past are revealed in "The Mortified Sessions," a new Sundance original series that reveal mementos from celebrities' past to shed light on who they are today. Awkward childhood photos, profane diary entries and embarrassing poetry take center stag as our favorite actors share their personal artifacts and anecdotes of their youth. On tonight's premiere episode, Ed Helms unearths some nerdy rock lyrics he wrote in high school. Find out how embracing his inner geek put him on the road to...

Weekly movie trailer roundup: Worst poster edition

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:37:15 +0000

New movie trailers were a little slim this week, so what I bring you instead are four of the worst new movie posters. Let's start with my favorite, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL. This isn't the main poster, but one of a series featuring an image of each supporting character with the same slogan, only with Paula Patton here dressed up like a prom queen, the slogan "No Plan, No Backup, No Choice" reads more like an ad for birth control you might see in Planned Parenthood.

Joe Zee dishes: How-to Fall style tips, where he shops & his favorite thing to eat between two buns

Perrin Drumm — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:00:09 +0000

Watch A ll on the Line with Joe Zee, Fridays at 9:30pm.

From NBC San Diego: A week before the season premiere of his show “All on the Line,” the dashing and always gracious Joe Zee took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about food, fashion… and well, more food. As creative director at Elle magazine and now host of his own show, our favorite fashion guy is always on the go, but still has time to fit in his favorite shopping spots and restaurants on both coasts. Find out how Mr. Zee spends his time outside of his kushy midtown office. And, don’t think we let him go without getting just a few style tips. You're a busy busy man - how's life these days? How do you juggle it all? Two incredible assistants, my Blackberry, Entourage and no sleep. Have you enjoyed the Hearst cafeteria sushi station in your new digs yet? (And, by the way, have you noticed that all the mirrors in the Hearst Tower make you look great!?) My first lunch before we even merged with Hearst was with my friend Annebet, an editor from Seventeen magazine and we indulged at the sushi station and it was amazing. In fact, I remember tweeting my lunch experience and a fellow tweeter even wrote back suggesting I...

Slavery Footprint: You have 42 slaves working for you

Perrin Drumm — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:00:51 +0000

You probably have less, actually. Apparently, my stuffed closet means I have a higher number of slaves than most people (although it doesn't account for vintage clothing, which contributes to my high dress and shoe count - I swear!). Slavery Footprint takes the same idea as a carbon footprint, but instead of tallying up how many miles your food, electronics, cosmetics, furniture and clothing traveled to get to your doorstep, it measures the number of people who are forcibly made to peel your shrimp and sew your t-shirts. It's something I think about a lot, actually. I conscientiously refuse to shop at certain stores because I know there's a reason why a dress at H&M costs $12.99 or why a bag of shellfish from god only knows where costs $6 while fresh, local fish is considerably more (of course, it also tastes like heaven and is better for you, too) But part of the reason for the price difference is, yes, slavery. You can take the very nicely designed test...

Miranda July’s “It Chooses You”

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:19:37 +0000

Even though Miranda July's new nonfiction book It Chooses You isn't inextricable from her latest film, THE FUTURE, the two could easily be called companion pieces in that having some knowledge of one only adds to your experience of the other. And it makes sense that July, who's a writer, performance artist and filmmaker wouldn't just make a film when she makes a film - she creates a whole world that manifests itself in the various mediums in which she works. There's performance art in the film, there's pieces of the book in the film and there's the story of making the film in the book. That's what this book really is, the story of how July finished her film, an unexpected and arduous task that took her on a journey all over Southern California. When she was close to finishing the screenplay for THE FUTURE, July was hit by a major case of writer's block. As any writer knows, sitting at your computer and Googling stuff related to your work instead of actually writing it is a completely normal and acceptable form of procrastination. But ravenously reading the Pennysaver and calling the people who placed the ads not to buy what they were selling but to interview them about their lives, their hopes and dreams, is another form of distraction altogether. But to July it wasn't a distraction, at least not entirely; It was a vision quest. In It Chooses You, July weaves her interviews with the Pennysaver people into her own personal narrative about her struggle to finish writing her film in a voice that's so honest and humble, so yearning and without pretense that I think even her detractors would get sucked into the power of her story. From the outside what she's doing is such a small and seemingly trivial thing, but from the inside of it, it's absolutely everything. It becomes grand in scale and importance. Everything hinges on July's ability to not only make it through the Pennysaver obstacle course she's set up for herself, but to make sense of it at the end...

Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito star in THE BIG KAHUNA

Perrin Drumm — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:04:51 +0000

Watch THE BIG KAHUNA on Thursday, Deceber 1st at 9pm. It may seem like pretty tame dramatic fodder at first, but salesman have always made for great theater and, once adapted, great film. Take “Death of a Salesman,” written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Arthur Miller and later adapted for the Golden Globe-winning TV 1985 show [...]

Tori Amos’ ‘Night of Hunters’ music video premiere

Perrin Drumm — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:00:41 +0000

On September 20th, platinum-selling singer-songwriter Tori Amos made her classical label debut with Night of Hunters (Deutsche Grammophon), a 21st century song cycle that draws on themes from Satie, Granados, Chopin and other great composers from the last 400 years. It's her twelfth studio album, and her first exclusively involving acoustic instruments. The songs are arranged for string quartet and flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon and contrabassoon in various formations...

Love Lust & Breakfast

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:51:36 +0000

Watch Love Lust: Breakfast, Monday, November 28th at 8pm.

When I think of a rich, savory, mouth-wateringly decadent breakfast I think of cheesy, buttery quickes, creamy grits with shrimp and bacon or huevos rancheros with freshly made corn tortillas, but as our resident food writers Zach and Diana both seem to crave the sweet stuff, I'm going to defer to them on this one. It's not as if Zach's pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes topped with melted butter don't sound incredible, or that I'm not totally envious of Diana's donut vision quest, but seriously, who can ever finish an entire plate of pancakes? It's like Mitch Hedberg said about pancakes - they're all exciting at first but by the end you're just sick of them...

Beyond reality TV: Getting to know the real Joe Zee

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:00:35 +0000

Watch A ll on the Line with Joe Zee, Fridays at 9:30pm.

Now that you've seen episode one (or see the rebroadcast schedule if you missed it) of what proves to be a very 'real' season of All on the Line with Joe Zee (don't be sad, there are happy endings ahead!), get to know the fashion guru himself, the man behind the big fancy Elle Magazine desk. Joe Zee dishes on his "naughty" childhood and how he survived his days as a starving college student to "work his way into fashion's pantheon." Here's what Luaine Lee had to say about Joe Zee in "Fashion Guru Joe Zee learned almost everything on the job."..

Weekly movie trailer roundup: Woody Harrelson in RAMPART vs. NATURAL BORN KILLERS

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:00:26 +0000

You've seen Woody Harrelson flex his bad boy-ness before in movies like NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, and most notably in NATURAL BORN KILLERS. Now he's back, and badder than ever, as they say, in Oren Moverman's RAMPART. Moverman, who directed Harrelson in his 2009 film THE MESSENGER, reunited him and his costar Ben Foster in the "story about the LAPD’s disgraced Rampart division, with a script originally written by LA crime master James Ellroy." A recent SlashFilm blog post claims that the trailer for RAMPART makes "BAD LIEUTENANT looks like a boy scout." Such an outrageous claim demanded my immediate judgment call. And after watching it, I'd have to say I agree. Harrelson is the seriously bad cop to Ice Cube's good cop. He drinks up a storm and shoots at whatever and whomever he wants. He drops classy pick up lines like "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen - in this bar," and spouts wisdom like "I'm not a racist. I hate everyone equally." (A revival, of sorts, of one of my favorite W.C. Fields quotations, "I am free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally.")

No more Mr. Nice Guy: A sneak peek at Joe Zee’s first episode of All on the Line

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:00:06 +0000

All on the Line with Joe, season 2 premieres Friday, November 25th at 9:30pm.

From NBC's ThreadNY: Fashion doesn’t always have a fairytale ending - a point being emphasized on the second season of Elle creative director Joe Zee’s All On The Line, premiering on the Sundance Channel November 25th. On each episode Zee works with one designer to help get their businesses back on track. In the premiere episode, Zee is tasked with counseling Angelo Lambrou - an East Village-based designer who has found success in the bridal market but has struggled to create a viable ready-to-wear business. Zee tells us, “I want people to realize how hard everybody has to work to make it. That’s what’s really exciting about this show...

Joe Zee on reality stars – and on becoming one himself

Perrin Drumm — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:00:05 +0000

All on the Line with Joe premieres Friday, November 25th at 9:30pm.

From The Huffington Post: "Joe Zee Talks ELLE, Says Snooki Will Never Land Cover" These days you can't go anywhere without seeing or hearing about the cast of "Jersey Shore." But one place you won't see Snooki is on the cover of Elle magazine. "I don't know about Snooki. I'm going to have to pass on that one," the creative director Joe Zee told me when I asked him if reality stars would ever grace his coveted cover. "We put Lauren Conrad on the cover of our anniversary issue and she did very well. Listen, Kim [Kardashian] is a big cover star out there and if Kim had something going on in her life right now -- Kim's very quiet -- I just wish that she would do something, but she's not doing anything. If she actually did something, we would actually think about Kim for the cover. It's about new. It's not about, so much, a reality star. The idea is, are they newsworthy? Is it someone our readers want to read about?" According to Joe, there is one cover girl who's always newsworthy...

The stars abound on season two of All on the Line with Joe Zee

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:00:44 +0000

Joe Zee gives Nicole Miller some advice in season two of All on the Line.

Joe Zee, Creative Director for ELLE, is always one step ahead of the trends. Now, Joe is using his style smarts and eye for detail to guide struggling fashion designers back on the road to success. With insider savvy, a positive spirit and a double dose of tough love, Joe inspires these listless labels to rekindle their creative fire and stay true to who they are. This just may be their last chance to transform cutting room concepts into rack ready fashions. With a make or break presentation to a buyer looming, it's ALL ON THE LINE. Returning slightly altered, this season Zee will enlist the help of some of his industry friends including American fashion designer, Rachel Roy, socialite and fashion trendsetter, Olivia Palermo, rock musician Adam Lambert, Mark Badgley and James Mischka of Badgley Mischka and model and actress Veronica Webb, to help judge the designer's ability. Each label will be put to the challenge when Zee asks the team to design quickly and outside of their comfort zones for one of these celebrities, who may or may not be typical of the label's core clientele. Personally, I'm looking forward to the episode with guest judge Olivia Palermo, who's style blog has inspired girl crushes worldwide, and Rachel Roy, who's closet I would kill to raid. Thefashionspot has its eye on Nicole Miller, proving that even established industry names need some help every once in a while. Miller, whose focused, hard-edged elegance wasn't attracting enough celebs or style bloggers, enlisted Joe's help to add some youthful flair to her latest collection...

The top ten biggest offenders from AOTL with Joe Zee, season one

Perrin Drumm — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:30:03 +0000

With everyone in a serious tizzy over the Friday night premiere of season two of All on the Line with Joe Zee, I realize that some readers may not have caught the epic dose of reality that was season one. Luckily, you can watch the entire season on iTunes for $20.What else are you going to do this week in between bouts of turkey-induced stupor? And watching Joe dole out tough love to struggling designers is as addictive as tryptophan is soporific. I got a sneak peek of season two last week and I'm dying to see the rest of the designers that get sent under the gauntlet...

Young Love: Now playing on Sundance Channel

Perrin Drumm — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Xavier Dolan, Niels Schneider and Monia Chokri in HEARTBEATS.

This week Sundance celebrates hot, young boys in love, starting tonight with a young Leonardo DiCaprio in TOTAL ECLIPSE. Leo plays 19th-century bad boy teen poet, Arthur Rimbaud (think lots of blousy shirts and sultry looks), who sends some of his poems to the famous writer, Paul Verlaine (played by David Thewlis, who won Best Actor at Cannes for the role in 1995). Verlaine is so impressed he invites Rimbaud to come stay at his house, but when he arrives he’s shocked to discover that Rimbaud is a crude and obnoxious sixteen-year-old kid. Still, he falls in love with him (in reality, Rimabud was nowhere near as cute as Leo, but hey, love is blind and Verlaine was no looker either), but it’s not a great match. Things don’t usually go well when you abandon your wife and kid for a hot teenage poet, whom you become so possessive of that you shoot him in a jealous rage. Luckily, Verlaine only hit Rimbaud’s left wrist, and he was a righty anyway. Hindsight’s a bitch, eh Paul?...

Love Lust & Holiday Feasts: Something to be truly thankful for

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:08:16 +0000

Love Lust & Holiday Feasts airs Monday, November 21 at 8pm, only on Sundance Channel.

If you don't have Thanksgiving on the brain (or the stomach) then stop reading this and get yourself to a hospital, because you might not have a pulse. For everyone else, here's something to be truly thankful for: These last few days before we all sit down to dinner at 2pm on Thursday are the only thing separating us from the onslaught of Christmas ads, movies and music we're going to be bombarded with nonstop from early Friday morning until the end of December. In fact, the Christmas pushers have probably already started encroaching on your last few days of pre-holiday madness. Last night I heard the first irritating strains of "Jingle Bells" as I shopped for groceries. So I guess it really is that time of year again. Sigh. It's beginning - true - but it hasn't completely yet begun. And until it does, until the countdown that begins December first is on, I'm going to relish all the good things about the holidays, namely the food. The more I ask people what they're making for Thanksgiving, the more I'm hearing about interesting renditions on classic recipes. A ham with a curry and brown sugar glaze for an Indian twist, or brussels sprouts tossed with roasted sesame oil and a splash of soy for some Asian flair...

Weekly movie trailer roundup: TWILIGHT vs. HUNGER GAMES

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:23:22 +0000

I might be the best, most impartial judge around when it comes to a face off between Twilight and The Hunger Games, and their respective movie adaptations. I've never read the books, never seen any of the movies and never harbored a secret crush on any of the actors - for real (sorry Taylor Lautner, I know you're kind of a big deal with pre-teens and their moms, but I just don't get it). I do know the basic story lines, though. One's got vampires and werewolves and shit, and the other one's got sci-fi teenagers fighting to the death in a gladiator-meets-Tron kinda deal. Those are the obvious things, but do you wanna know the other major difference? One looks like it suuuucks...

Between the Lines: BAM’s best kept secret

Perrin Drumm — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:00:36 +0000

Between the Lines, BAM's brief, three-part series of specially curated nights of "thinkers, storytellers and drinkers from across the arts and sciences" is the kind of one night, mini-explosion of creative and intellectual power that really ought to take place more than three months a year. I went on the last night of the 2011 season, a line-up that included writers John Jeremiah Sullivan and Clancy Martin, a short film about a robot from the future by Chema Garcia, a film by Ari Kuschnir about the conductor Benjamin Zander and his attempt to lead an orchestra through Mahler's Symphony No. 2 after just a handful of performances, followed by the Brooklyn-based string quartet, The Mahlerettes...

2012/13 Rolex Arts Initiative mentors announced

Perrin Drumm — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:41:34 +0000

As the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative celebrated the achievements of its 2010/11 program at the NYPL this weekend, we eagerly awaited the announcement of who the next six mentors in dance, film, literature, music, theatre and art would be. And it comes as no surprise that they're all amazing and highly accomplished, precisely what the program looks for: true masters in their fields. Dance: Lin Hwai-min (Taiwan) Ever since he founded the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan in the '70s, Lin Hwai-min has been hailed as Asia's premier choreographer and a pioneer of contemporary dance. His choreography blends traditional theatre elements with Western dance techniques, creating an arresting style that prompted The New York Times to declare "Lin Hwai-min has succeeded brilliantly in fusing dance techniques and theatrical concepts from the East and West." Film: Walter Murch (U.S.) Acclaimed for his work as a sound mixer and editor on films like AMERICAN GRAFFITI, THE CONVERSATION, APOCALYPSE NOW and THE GODFATHER series, Walter Murch literally coined the term 'sound designer.' And who better to do so than the man who won an unprecedented double Oscar for both sound mixing and film editing for THE ENGLISH PATIENT?

Rolex mentor and protégé: director Zhang Yimou and Annemarie Jacir

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:00:12 +0000

When Chinese director and Rolex Arts Initiative mentor, Zhang Yimou, was asked to select a protégé more than a year ago, he said he chose Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir "because of her work and background. We Chinese have a special affinity with Third World countries like Palestine. I fully support people from developing nations who dream of filming in their own land." Yimou makes colorful, monumental films like A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP (2009), HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS (2004), HERO (2002) and RAISE THE RED LANTERN (1991). He has won awards at festivals around the world and yes, even at our beloved Sundance (for THE ROAD HOME). He just completed his next film, THE FLOWERS OF WAR, a story about "Chinese sex workers in 1937 [who] volunteer to replace university students as escorts for invading Japanese soldiers." It stars Christian Bale and opens in China next month...

Movies that suck (and some that don’t): what’s playing this week on Sundance Channel

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:02:53 +0000

Who said you can't have dessert first? Start your holiday indulgence early with this week's episode of Love Lust, Chocolate edition. Then get ready for the season premiere of Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys with a jam-packed week of your favorite episodes from season one. And if you just can't get enough, check out all the sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes looks at season two in Nashville, including a full episode available to watch with your friends online. On Thursday night, EYES WIDE SHUT sets the mood when Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman get creepy sexy. Then Sundance takes things a bit further and celebrates vampire sex appeal on Friday night with Love Lust & Vampires, followed by the original vampire killing hottie, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (with Luke Perry, remember him? That kid was gonna be a star! Lesser known fact: Donald Sutherland and Paul Reubens also make appearances.) Speaking of which, if they ever get around to making that once talked about BUFFY reboot, Buffy original Kristy Swanson says she's up for the job, any job, actually...

The 2010/11 Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:33:18 +0000

Yesterday, Brian Eno made an appearance at the New York Public Library to introduce a work by his musical protégé, Ben Frost. It was part of a weekend of performances marking the end of the fifth cycle of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, a year-long program that pairs promising young artists with masters in their field for a year of creative collaboration. This year saw artist Anish Kapoor paired with Nicholas Hlobo, choreographer Trisha Brown with Lee Serle, filmmaker Zhang Yimou with Annemarie Jacir, "polymath patrician" Hans Magnus Enzensberger with Tracy K. Smith, dramaturge Peter Sellars with Maya Zbib as well as Eno and Frost. The opportunity to work alongside such world-renowned artists is so coveted and exclusive that nominees are selected by an anonymous panel of experts who conduct an exhaustive international search...

Weekly movie trailer roundup: Adam Sandler’s fake-real movie vs. his real-fake one

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:00:49 +0000

If you've been unfortunate enough to have already seen the trailer for Adam Sandler's latest movie, JACK AND JILL, you might have asked yourself - Is this shit for real? - only to discover the sad, sad fact that it was indeed. If there's any lesson to be learned from Eddie Murphy's career (besides having your mouth so glued to Brett Ratner's butt you have to follow him wherever he goes, like into the Oscars and right back out of them again), it's not to dress up as the fat, female version of yourself and then star opposite her. But Sandler did it anyway, and it looks so unbelievably bad, so excruciatingly unwatchable, many people are questioning its authenticity, citing the parody trailers in the beginning of TROPIC THUNDER as more believable.

Five ways to get green-washed (in a really good way)

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:30:04 +0000

All the flora that's fit to print: People are always talking about how print is dead, but things must be looking up for the ink and paper world (Style.com just launched a print version, and Vogue's sales continue to rise). That, or Wilder Quarterly, a new magazine "for people enthralled by the natural world," is just a ballsy move. But with photography and layouts as gorgeous as the ones in all the fancy cookbooks I can't afford, here's hoping this one's here to stay.

Love sucks, that’s why we brought pizza: a look at what’s playing this week on Sundance Channel

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:19:40 +0000

As the icy fingers of Winter continue to creep up on us it's time to stay in, bundle up and get cozy - and what better way to add on layers of warmth than with your favorite comfort food? Read our resident food blogger Zach Golden expound on the feel-goodness of feel-good food, and then tune into a month of Love Lust episodes that celebrate the art of chowing down with tonight's episode, "Comfort Food." The Sundance series continue all week long, but that doesn't mean our film lovers are getting the short end of the programming stick. On Wednesday night we're showing Joe Maggio's 2008 PAPER COVERS ROCK, the first film in a planned ten-part series inspired by Krystof Kieslowski's "Decalogue." Later that night, Catherine Deneuve stars in Andre Techine's 2009 GIRL ON THE TRAIN, which follows two families brought together by a seemingly inexplicable event. Then on Thursday, love stinks with I HATE VALENTINE'S DAY (2009), which follows newbie filmmakers, and ex-bf/gf duo Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones' BREAKING UPWARDS, the not-at-all-bad-for-$15k indie film hit of 2010...

Weekly movie trailer roundup: Steve McQueen’s SHAME is almost here!!!

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:36:35 +0000

"I'm essentially quite happy, but, for some reason, I have done a lot of stuff that is dark. I don't know why that is and I don't question it. I don't really think you have a choice where you go as an artist." So says Steve McQueen, the Turner prize-winning artist cum prize-winning director (his stunning 2008 film HUNGER won no less than 33 awards). Now his follow up feature, SHAME, which swept the Venice Film Festival awards and garnered high praise well in advance of its upcoming wide release is set to hit theaters on December 2nd. That's less than one month away (!!!), and since I missed it at NYFF I have my calendar marked - literally. I'm one of those people who get really excited for a movie and try to read as little about it as possible until after I've seen it and formed my own opinions. It's been kinda tough with SHAME because everyone is already raving about it, and with what looks like another unrelenting performance from Michael Fasssbender as well as from cinema's darling Carey Mulligan, reviews and commentary are freaking everywhere. I also cant' wait to watch it because then I...

Today’s top hashtag: #ThatsWhatHoesDo

Perrin Drumm — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:20:21 +0000

The #ThatsWhatHoesDo trend follows the same basic premise of Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if…" jokes. In fact, it might as well read, "You might be a hoe if…" Apparently, hoes are quite dexterous where social media is concerned, strategically changing their Twitter location and Facebook relationship status. These are some of the best I found (even Betty White and Harry Potter chimed in), but it got about 100 new tweets per minute (for realz) so if I missed one, add your fave in the comments.

Based on books: Sundance Channel gets literary this week

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:48:48 +0000

What do these four films have in common? They're all based books (okay, in one case it's a play). We'll break down the necessary details and you watch the films and tell us which is better: the book or the movie? OSCAR AND LUCINDA (1997) Directed by: Gillian Armstrong Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, Ciarin Hinds and Tom Wilkinson Based on the book by: Peter Carey How you know him: He also wrote True History of the Kelly Gang, which won him his second Booker Prize- the first was for Oscar and Lucinda. In fact, he's one of only two writers to win it twice (the other is J.M. Coetzee). He also collaborated on the screenplay for Wim Wender's UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD...

THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2: at IFC and VOD

Perrin Drumm — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:10:50 +0000

A couple of days ago THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 was released On Demand to viewers everywhere, who are apparently ravenous for the sequel. As to why, I can't say, but then again I've never been a fan of bad horror films that specialize in bodily disfigurement heretofore completely inconceivable to me (even in my wildest imagination, people aren't scurrying around butt-to-mouth). In fact, last night on Halloween, I was a little afraid I might see a human centipede chain creeping its way down 6th Avenue in the New York Halloween parade. Luckily, I was spared the sight and, for the first time ever, I was actually happy to see a gaggle of store-bought Mario's and Luigi's bumble down the block instead. I'm aware that I may be a little outnumbered in my repugnance, that a lot of people are actually titillated by the film's catch phrase, "100% medically inaccurate," and to that I'd like to add: 100% totally gross. If you...

Around (part of) the world in 7 days: Sundance films go cross-contintental this week

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:33:22 +0000

Because it's on a Monday this year, which means you've been dressing up in costume every night since Friday, this might just be the longest Halloween weekend ever. It's not over yet, but if you're partied out, or just out of fake blood, stay in and cozy up to the Halloween episode of my "My So Called Life." Angela falls for the Jordan Catalano of the 50s, who's ghost still haunts the school gym, and (spoiler) her parents get so turned on by their costumes (he's a pirate, she's Rapunzel) that they decide to stay in and role play instead of going to the neighbor's party. Once the clock strikes November, though, we ditch all things Halloween with EVERLASTING MOMENTS (2008), by Swedish director Jan Troell, who worked with Nordic heavy-hitters like Max von Sydow and Liv Ullman, who he directed in some of her finest films, including THE EMIGRANTS (1971) and THE NEW LAND (1972). Then we venture south to France with Claude Chabrol's A GIRL CUT IN TWO (2007). Chabrol, who died just last year, is credited with starting the nouvelle vague. He was a critic at the famed Cahiers du Cinema in the 50s and directed...

Movie trailer roundup: Out of control super teens & a scare from the Sundance fest

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:55:58 +0000

Okay, it may not be the most original approach, but this week I rounded up a bunch of scary movie trailers because hey, it's Halloween and everyone's talking about it. Too much, in fact. None of my friends have kids yet - the only excusable reason for an adult to get amped up it - and yet many are inexplicably entranced by the holiday. Luckily, no one's asked me what I'm going as, maybe because my friends all know by now that I don't care. I like candy and I like drinking on a Monday night as much as the next person, but not with a bunch of women who've picked the first snow weekend of the year to go out dressed like whores. On purpose - not by accident. A good friend of mine, who's also a snappy and sometimes theatrical dresser, someone I would normally think would go all out for the opportunity for outlandish dressing that Halloween affords, surprised me by confiding that she doesn't dress for Halloween because she takes so much time in thinking of what she'll wear on all the other 364 days of the year that it's simply too exhausting. This weekend, I join her in taking a stand against all your avid Halloweeners out there, and yeah you can boo me as much as you want. And oh yeah, this is supposed to be about movies:

Sundance is gonna scare the sh*t outta you this week

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:15:32 +0000

Halloween is just around the corner, and if you don't have your costume ready yet let us inspire you with a line up of seriously scary movies. Seriously. I mean it. Like if you really wanted to dress up as some of the characters in these movies you could probably just pour of bucket of fake blood over your head and call it a night. Or, if you're like me and prefer to leave the gore onscreen, there's no better way to drown out the sound of your doorbell ringing and scare away the trick-or-treaters on the other side by tuning into Sundance Channel and turning the volume wayyyy up. Don't know what to watch first? Allow me to break it down quick and dirty: POSSESSION OF DAVID O'REILLY: Scary-as-hell supernatural demons in a "shockumentary" that will haunt your dreams. COFFIN ROCK: Go ahead, sleep with your stalker, psychopathic neighbor. What's the worse that could happen?...

Top Ten cult films: so bad they’re scary

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:00:27 +0000

Our resident film critic, Michael Musto, recently wrote about five movies so terrible they're actually kind of great. The number one film on that list, THE ROOM, also tops another best-of-the-bad rundown, the top ten "Awesomely Bad Films With Cult Followings," or as I like to call it, ten films that are so bad it's scary. In fact, many of them fall in the scary movie category, so if a high-budget horror flick isn't your style, if you like it cheap and dirty, and above all - bad - then these movies are must see, especially as we countdown to the scariest day of the year. You've been warned...

Scary hot boys and just plain scary – what’s playing this week on Sundance

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:00:34 +0000

We've got another great week of films on Sundance Channel, but before I let you in on the highlights I have to put in a word about tonight's episode of "My So Called Life." Let me preface this by saying I came to the show late in life, as in, I was already an adult by the time I met Angela, Rayanne, Rickie and Jordan Catalano, and so I was able to judge Jordan's brain dead gaze as just that - brain dead - and wasn't swayed by how my teenage hormones might have reacted to the oh-so-pretty face and soft brown waves concealing a mind completely devoid of thought - and, apparently, the ability to read. Which bring us to tonight's episode, "Why Jordan Can't Read." It's maybe one the strangest high school issues to tackle (more popular topics being the ongoing teenage battle against acne and dating). Is illiteracy really an issue that late in the game? Moreover, it's not clear at the end of the show whether or not anyone is going to help the kid out and teach him his ABC's. I mean, what's Angela going to do when Jordan takes her on a date to a fancy restaurant - read him all the items on the menu? Oh wait, that's right. They don't go on dates; They just make out all over school. Sigh, remember when...

Weekly movie trailer roundup: Harry Potter’s not over yet

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:40:11 +0000

Because the books are so beloved, the movies so successful and the fans still reeling in post-Potter malaise, Warner Bros. is releasing one final (and this is really it guys, for real, I swear) look back with the real behind-the-scenes story, the true making-of, the 48-minute documentary only available on the DVD purchased at Target, WHEN HARRY LEFT HOGWARTS.

Full Frontal Fashion recap: No more basic black – say hello to the lady in red

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:27:34 +0000

Winter is upon us, which means we're about to be bombarded by a city-wide attack of the basic black coat. But you don't have to be another boring, cold weather offender: wear red! We break down bright Winter dressing. If cladding yourself in stop sign red isn't your thing, we gotcha. But basic doesn't have to be so blahh...

Film in 4D at the New York Food Film Festival

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:43:27 +0000

Mistura's intense bread baking competition.

This past weekend I went to check out the New York Food Film Festival, four nights of food-related screenings served with a tasting menu of some of the items cooked up in the films. It's like cinema in 4D, and using all of your senses to experience a film is kind of overwhelming. I went on the Peruvian-themed night, which meant I was offered a traditional Pisco sour the moment I walked in the room. Having recently spent several weeks in Peru, eating traditional, local food cooked by traditional, local people, I felt like I was a pretty well-informed attendee, and I wasn't sure if the South American cuisine would come off as well Stateside. But one sip of the bartender's much stronger and thankfully less sweet Pisco sour and I knew it was going to be a good night of food and films...

The evolution of ERASERHEAD star Jack Nance

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:15:12 +0000

After David Lynch saw Jack Nance's performance at a local theatre in Philadelphia in the early 70s, he cast him as the lead in his avant garde 1977 film, ERASERHEAD. A few years prior to their first meeting, Nance had been seriously considered for the lead in THE GRADUATE, a role which would have launched him off on an entirely different career than the one he had working alongside Lynch...

Redford urges Obama to stop the Keystone XL pipeline

Perrin Drumm — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:34:59 +0000

Robert Redford delivers a powerful message to President Obama, asking him to say no to the Keystone XL pipeline that threatens to destroy "the bread basket of America" so big oil can turn a profit.

Brace yourself for fright night: What’s playing this week on Sundance Channel

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:34:41 +0000

If you don't have your Halloween costume ready yet, tune into Sundance Channel this week for inspiration a la Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch, with back-to-back screenings of EYES WIDE SHUT and ERASERHEAD. If it's less creep you seek in your ghoulish pursuits, the animated, family-friendly THE LADY AND THE REAPER or star-studded murder mystery THE DEAD GIRL are sure to...

Diane Arbus’ top 10 most famous portraits

Perrin Drumm — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:59:12 +0000

Before 2003, the world hadn't seen a major exhibition of Diane Arbus' work in almost thirty years, during a traveling exhibition in the 1970s, and given the overwhelming response to "Diane Arbus Revelations" (2003-2006), the world was long overdue. Filmmaker Steven Shainberg (SECRETARY) took note and in 2006 relased FUR: AN IMAGINARY PORTRAIT OF DIANE ARBUS, starring Nicole Kidman as Arbus and Robert Downey Jr. as Lionel Sweeney, a fictionalized version of one of Arbus' portraiture subjects. Since Arbus dwelled in a bizarre, fantastical and on-the-fringe world, it's only fitting that an imagined story of her life is as close to a real 'biopic' as we're likely to get. Get ready for Sundance Channel's Sunday night screening (October 16th at 7:55p) with some her most famous photographs...

Weekly movie trailer roundup: THE MUPPETS and THE MUPPET MOVIE

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:49:54 +0000

Let's just get this out there: I love the Muppets. I grew up with them as much as any kid, but it's only as an adult that I really appreciate Jim Henson and the art of muppetry. I love The Muppet Show from the late 70s and early 80s, THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979) - I even love the side characters - the two cranky old men in the theatre and the aliens from Muppets in Space - more than the main attractions. And as one generation that spent their childhood alongside Kermit and Miss Piggy grows up and has kids of their own, it's really no surprise that Disney's come out with a Muppet movie for the next batch of young 'uns, THE MUPPETS (due out in November). The main question is whether director...

Full Frontal Fashion recap: loving Elizabeth Olsen’s break out style

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:58:35 +0000

Break-out star Elizabeth Olsen hits NYFF in head-to-toe McQueen. In Rachel Zoe's words, I die. (And check out her transformative style evolution.) It's hot! It's cold! It's humid! What do I where?...

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE sweeps the festival circuit

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:30:57 +0000

Elizabeth Olsen, aka the younger sister of the Olsen twins, may be poised to upstage her famous older sisters with a performance in MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE that critics are calling "a tour de force, full of depth and complexity." It's kind of amazing that her first film credit, one of the Olsen twins' childhood capers, HOW THE WEST WAS FUN, was made less than ten years ago. In the meantime, she graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, and now she's back at the tender age of 22 to show us what she's got. But Olsen isn't the only fresh new face...

Ryan O’Neal: Bad boy in BARRY LYNDON, bad boy in reality TV

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:00:53 +0000

Stanley Kubrick's 1975 picaresque masterpiece, BARRY LYNDON, was, like many of his greatest films, universally panned as a massive failure upon its release only to be regarded years later as a film classic. It stars Ryan O'Neal in one of his most memorable roles. After five years on Peyton Place, an Oscar nomination for his role in LOVE STORY, followed by WHAT'S UP, DOC? and PAPER MOON, O'Neal was already an established star. He played the part of Lyndon with a quietness and sensitivity I doubt any other actor would have brought to the role. In fact, in all of his biggest roles he's played the soft-spoken, gentle leading man, like the love-sick Oliver Barrett in LOVE STORY and the...

Bring on the food porn: The NY Food Film Fest

Perrin Drumm — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:00:06 +0000

Even though there's a specific, Food Porn event at NYFFF (that's the other film fest, the food film fest), let's face it - with a tribute to the taco and cheers to burgers and beers (picture close-ups of melting cheese oozing out over a perfectly grilled patty poised on a nice, buttery bun), it's allll food porn. And with four days of tastings cooked by a line-up that includes Dos Toros, Rockaway Taco, Dos Caminos, Di Fara's Pizza, An Choi's Banh Mi, Ovenly's Beer Cupcakes and Peruvian celebri-chef Gaston Acurio - that's not a bad thing...

Bad boys and even badder girls: what’s playing this week on Sundance Channel

Perrin Drumm — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:59:09 +0000

Nicole Kidman as photographer Diane Arbus in FUR

Last week we gave you a little taste of what's in store for Kubrick fans this month on Sundance Channel with EYES WIDE SHUT and BARRY LYNDON. We keep your appetite whet this week with 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and another dose of Ryan O'Neal as bad boy BARRY LYNDON. Stay satisfied with Gretchen Mol, who bears is all in THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE. Then LOVE COMES LATELY (based on the short stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer) proves that you don't have to be young to be young at heart - or have a bed-shaking sex life. And Robert Downey Jr. and Nicole Kidman take sex to a whole new - and hairy - level...

Weekly movie trailer roundup: Spielberg + little boys = big adventure

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:27:27 +0000

Young boys, their pets, period clothing, speeding cars, explosions, battles, a million different settings and director Steven Spielberg - that's what WAR HORSE and THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN have in common. And they both come out around Christmas - two days apart. Coincidence? Probably not, but since TINTIN is animated Spielberg probably feels they're different enough to release at the same time.

Goodbye Paris, hello cow nipples?

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:00:40 +0000

The Top 20 Spring Trends: Fashion gets ladylike with laser-cut lace, super femmy braids, feathers and the ever-shrinking handbag. (Finally! Am I the only with a sore shoulder?)

10 things you didn’t know about Stanley Kubrick

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:00:37 +0000

1. You've been saying his last name wrong: It's pronounced Cue-brick, not Koo-brick. 2. He wanted to be a drummer: Specifically a jazz drummer, until his dad bought him a Graflex camera for his 13th birthday and there was no looking back...