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Dancing, music mashups, and New York City — this is what Girl Walk // All Day is all about.  Girl Walk // All Day, directed by Jacob Krupnick, is a feature length music video that encompasses young dancers taking over the Big Apple with dance, through their self–discovery and love.  Based off the album All Day by mashup artist Girl Talk, the CD and film sample music from big name artists like Lady Gaga, Jay-Z and Black Sabbath.  The star dancer, Anne Marsen, begins her journey in ballet class, as she breaks free from her overbearing instructor and ventures into New York City with only dance moves and personality to her name.  The audience follows her and her journey to inspire the city, as she encounters a “gentleman,” a “creep,” and weird looks from the everyday people of Manhattan, ultimately instilling a sense of joy in your mind.

Girl Walk // All Day is not a cinematic achievement, but it certainly enthralls the audience with its music, dancing, and message.  The major themes of self-discovery and community are generally no stranger to the plot of dance films.  It certainly gets the message across and has been executed in an original way, albeit a predictable one.  Because this was filmed without any real notice to the public, minor flaws began to become apparent, whether it’s through a weird camera movement made to accommodate the large groups of people, or a low quality shot due to certain public restrictions. The music and dancing didn’t seem to cue up half the time, the way a normal music video would, but that’s understandable considering the public filming.  Ultimately, for the most part, All Day is assembled well enough to keep an audience interested with only a few distractions.

The initial concept of a 70-minute long music video might feel a bit overbearing, but those 70 minutes won’t fail to amuse.  The music, the dancing, and the concerned glances from the city-goers constantly keep you intrigued.  Actually, with all the crazy antics the actors performed, you would think they deserved more glances than they received.  The actors/dancers had excellent charisma and self-confidence, for being able to go out in New York’s streets and act ridiculous.

 Girl Walk // All Day gets 7 unsuspecting pedestrians out of 10.

The film had its Philadelphia premiere at World Cafe Live during last month’s XPN Music Film Festival, but is available to the public online at girlwalkallday.com.

Original Article

James Bond has never looked more out of character in the newly released trailer for Sam Mendes’ directed Skyfall, and it looks awesome. Instead of seeing a suave, gun-toting, martini-drinking British playboy, this new trailer opens on an interrogation of 007 by an unknown government official, with M behind one-way glass. Listening to a series of word associations, it’s clear that this is a psychological evaluation of Mr. Bond. We hear: “Country?” “England.” “Gun?” “Shot.” Etc, until we hear the word: “Skyfall?” Bond doesn’t answer. “Skyfall?” After a brief pause and a familiar icy stare by Daniel Craig, he answers, “Done.”

Already, we know that this is not going to be an ordinary Bond flick that we’re so used to seeing. Sure, there are various shots of exotic places that 007 gets to travel regularly, a glimpse of one of the Bond girls, played by Naomi Harris, first seen as the bad-toothed voodoo lady from the Pirates franchise, and a few shots of Bond using his favorite Walther PP7. But as the trailer progresses, things quickly start looking unfamiliar. There’s a row of caskets blanketed by the Union Jack, a train crashing through a subway station, and a building engulfed in flames as a shadowy figure, that we can only assume is our new Bond villain played by Javier Bardem, marches towards the camera.

The only thing this trailer doesn’t convince of is that this is a typical Bond movie. Even the revamped Casino Royale had a Bond flavor when the trailers first came out. This feels like some insane hybrid of 007, Die Hard, and The Dark Knight, and it’s never looked more awesome. For a trailer that barely reaches two minutes, it says so much about what’s to come in this latest 007 installment, and yet leaves everything to the imagination. What the hell will Bond do next?

The trailer for Skyfall is embedded below. It hits theaters October 24^th.

Original Article

Television’s best show (yeah, I said it!) Breaking Bad has been off the air since its explosive October 9^th finale, but the AMC Network has let fans know just how much longer they’ll have to wait for the latest installment in Walt and Jesse’s meth-making adventure. Just two days less than a full year after Season 4 premiered, Breaking Bad is scheduled to debut its 5^th season Sunday, July 15^th at 10:00 pm. With its planned shortened (8 episode) season, this means there will be enough Breaking Bad to tide Bryan Cranston fans over until early September.

The stars and producers of the show are keeping a pretty tight lid on season 5 thus far, but another notable development has come through the casting of Friday Night Lights alum Jesse Plemons. Plemons will have a recurring role as Todd, a “working-class guy” that seems nice, but as is the case with every Breaking Bad character, there’s more to him than meets the eye. Plemons will join the rest of the cast of regulars, as well as recurring actors Matt L. Jones (Badger) and Charles Baker (Skinny Pete), who both revelead through their Twitters that they’ll be returning on the 5^th season.

The most unfortunate recent bit of news came in the form of AMC’s confirmation that the sixth and final 8 episode season will not air until the summer of 2013, leaving Bad fans with another prolonged hiatus between seasons. With Mad Men currently on, the July 15^th date leaves four Sundays for fans of quality television to go outside and enjoy their summers between Bad’s premiere, and the June 10^th finale of Mad Men.

Original Article

Trailer Tuesday is a new column where one of Cinedork’s writers guides you through the ABCs of new trailers. We take a look at awesome, bizarre, and cringe-worthy upcoming movies and add some of our own insights. This week, Zach takes you through the latest offerings from established directors David Cronenberg, Jay Roach, and Paul Thomas Anderson, with movies starring Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Samantha Morton, Robert Pattinson, and Joaquin Phoenix.

The Awesome

To The Drummer’s Beat: Ominously, a Jonny Greenwood score creeps in over visuals of a man walking alone into the ocean. Joaquin Phoenix, back to looking normal but utilizing a nostalgic drawl reminiscent of the 50s, asserts that he is neither “mixed up,” nor “jumpy.” As the off screen interrogation continues, unsettling shots of Phoenix’s character on the beach making breasts in the sand, and sharpening a cleaver. A crowd of shirtless men wrestle in the sand, and it’s clear that this isn’t a normal gathering. As Phoenix fails to answer questions about “an episode,” the sense of panic reaches its peak. The Master is the latest film from auteur Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, There Will Be Blood) and also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, who is not seen in the trailer, as an intellectual that starts a faith-based organization. From the trailer, the organization feels much more like a cult than a religion. It will be released on October 12^th.

The Bizarre

My New Haircut: In a calculated post-Twlight move, Robert Pattinson is at the center of the latest David Cronenberg (The Fly, A History of Violence) film, playing a high finance, gun-wielding playboy on the run from assassins that just wants to get a new haircut. It’s New York City at the end of the era of capitalism, and it’s clear things are getting out of control. Something called “Spectre” is haunting the world and the lower classes are threateningly holding up dead rats by their tails! It’s hard to really clearly gauge what’s going on in Cosmopolis, but it’s on a fairly epic scale for the fairly character-driven Cronenberg. Cosmopolis comes out sometimes this year, but premieres at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

The Cringe-Worthy

Political Buffoonery: Today, comedy has about two clowns in Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis that can sell a movie. In The Campaign, those two are united on the campaign trail in a farce directed by Jay Roach. The movie lies somewhere in between Roach’s last two films, the Julianne Moore-starring Sarah Palin HBO movie Game Change and the Paul Rudd/Steve Carell comedy Dinner For Schmucks, but with a definite disposition towards the ridiculous. Galifianakis are Ferrell are both going broad with their characters, as two rival senators running against one another, but while the trailer has its moments, you can’t help but think that this might look better if it was a little more restrained and if Will Ferrell punched one fewer babies.

Original Article

The new horror/thriller Chernobyl Diaries comes out in less than a week but there’s still time to help bring a screening of it to Philadelphia (or whichever town YOU live in, not that it’s as cool as Philly). Scary movie fans can vote through their Facebooks or Twitters to “Quarantine Your City.” In addition to a preview screening of Chernobyl Diaries, Warner Brothers and Oren Peli are planning to surprise some cities with a guest appearance by Peli, the film’s producer and co-writer, as well as other special guests.

Oren Peli, most widely known for having written and directed the original Paranormal Activity. With Paranormal, Peli showed off a flair for working within the confines of found footage films. He brings his influence aboard as a co-writer and producer for the analogously found-footage Chernobyl Diaries.

Maybe there were “too soon” concerns, but I can’t believe this is the first widely released movie set in Chernobyl. It was the site of a fucking nuclear disaster! There could have easily been some updated landlocked Fail-Safe type of movie starring whomever’s the modern day version Henry Fonda (Ryan Reynolds? No… Mark Ruffalo. What was this article about, again? Oh, right!).

Chernobyl Diaries is about a group of 20-something tourists that hire a guide for some “extreme tourism” in the abandoned city of Pripyat, near the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. During their exploration of the former homes of the nuclear reactor’s workers, they soon realize they are not alone. The movie is the directorial debut of visual effects artist Bradley Parker and stars Jesse McCartney, Jonathan Sadowski and Olivia Dudley.

You can vote to bring Chernobyl Diaries to your city at http://www.quarantineyourcity.com

Original Article

The roaming film series known as The Awesomefest makes its return to The Trocadero on Tuesday, May 29^th with Degenerate Art: The Art & Culture of Glass Pipes. It’s a documentary about the taboo multi-millions dollar underground culture of glass pipe blowing, directed by renowned glassblower M. Slinger. Slinger will be in attendance for a Q&A following the film, along with a live glass blowing demonstration accompanied by a DJ set from Ryan-I of Blessed Coast Sound.

The movie’s director, M. Slinger, is a local glass artist. He’s making his first foray into feature films with Degenerate Art, but he’s been a professional glassblower, filmmaker, graphic designer, painter, and installation artist for 15 years who has taught glassblowing across the USA, Canada and Japan.

His new film discusses the origins of the color-changing pipe as well as the blossoming art movement glass blowing has become today. The subversive art form has seen some glassblowers prosecuted for making drug paraphernalia, which allows the subject of glassblowing to become a launching pad for discussions of free speech and expression.

Degenerate Art was an official selection of the South By South West Film Festival of 2012, and it will be making its Philadelphia premiere when it plays at the Trocadero during The Awesomefest. Doors open at 7pm and the film starts at 8pm. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance at www.thetroc.com.

For more on the film check out www.degenerateartthefilm.com

For more information on this and other upcoming The Awesomefest events check out www.theawesomefest.com

Original Article

Morgan Spurlock’s fame came with him eating a lot of fast food. From there he has fully crafted his art of the documentary and made films like The Greatest Movie Ever Sold and a TV show called 30 Days. Mansome comes as a wildcard mixed in the with the rest. A format that is completely different than anything we’ve seen from him before that leaves himself out of the picture. Instead, Spurlock relies on interviews with comedians and “professionals” (more like obsessers) to be the main substance of the film. Oh. Did I mention it’s a film about male body hair?

“A film about male grooming you say… Why that sounds oddly fascinating.” said the part of my brain with the IQ of 20. The concept of comedians talking about hair on men seems like it could be highly entertaining especially knowing Spurlocks track record for creating interesting and unique content. From Adam Corolla to Jason Bateman, Zach Galifinakis, and Will Arnet and the host of other famous people in this film it doesn’t have the one thing that makes Spurlocks films really resonate…. Morgan Spurlock. In Super Size Me and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold we have this main character that we follow around and root for. In Mansome we just get random thoughts that seem to all be about the same topic. Nothing cohesive enough to have a shred of emotion attached.

That in itself is the problem with the film. It feels like a PBS documentary about squids rather than a Spurlock film. I was expecting Spurlock being put in situations, which is very fun and interesting to watch. The comedians make up for it, but their one-liners and lack of cohesiveness doesn’t help the film progress. It makes an hour and a half film feel like 3 hours of average jokes concerning male hair. At times there comes a character that we follow for 10, 15 minutes but as soon as we get to know him he’s gone and replaced by random brain farts of knowledge that don’t really have any deeper meaning. Maybe if the interviews commented on how crazy some of these people are it would be more tied-together. At only one point in this film was there any sense of a point, and that came only 15 minutes from the end which puts people through a lot of build up for a small reward.

Spurlock fans be warned, this film is not what you are expecting and comedy fans, go rent something instead.

6 Hairy backs out of 10

Original Article

Sacha Baron Cohen brazenly flaunts politically correct sacred cows en route to a stirring political statement of his own in the often hilarious The Dictator. Cohen’s third film is nominally about a racist, sexist and egomaniacal dictator from Wadiya (a fictional Northern African nation) who becomes a fish out of water after taking up with a New York City radical feminist health co-op manager, Zooey (Anna Faris). Cohen and director Larry Charles attempt to pack a serious punch in its conclusion when Admiral General Aladeen (Cohen) addresses a roomful of dignitaries and bemoans his country’s policies of “the one percent” controlling the wealth and starting wars “with the wrong country,” etc. America’s own hypocritical power structure is jarringly held up to a mirror and whether you agree with the polemic or not, Cohen’s boldness offers a fine exclamation point to a film that plunges into yet more rarefied rough-and-tumble, blunt offensiveness.

In no particular order there’s a side-splitting scene in a helicopter where a couple of tourists become terrified as they listen to what they believe is Almadeen and a pal talk about a terrorist plot, a scene where Almadeen delivers a baby that is meant to stretch your ability to be shocked, recurring slapstick involving a dismembered head, a scene on a high wire reminiscent of the silent film era, numerous Zooey hairy armpit references, and a few scenes where Cohen’s clueless body double (Cohen) is held up to high ridicule, including a preposterously amusing scene with Wadiyan female soldier prostitutes. Sir Ben Kingsley is aboard as Aladeen’s plotting brother, and the rightful heir to the throne, John C. Reilly as a unique bodyguard, and Megan Fox makes a cameo where she’s the target of a post-coital cuddling joke.

Cohen and Charles’ first scripted film abandons the faux documentary style of Borat and Bruno and thus sacrifices Cohen’s trademark technique of going after gullible innocent bystanders, or, in the case of his TV character Ali G, celebrities. The script has a few soft spots. When Almadeen goes to New York’s “Little Wadiya” he’s confronted by a roomful of expatriates he thought he’d already murdered in the old country (a running joke has Almadeen ordering executions at the drop of a hat, including his mom). The scene’s funny at first but goes on far too long. Editing is often choppy. Yet comparisons that Cohen has veered off into Adam Sandler territory with this film are far too myopic. Its highly commendable 83-minute length keeps its sizzle from going stolid.

If you’re unwilling to laugh at stuff we normally keep on an off-limits pedestal, Cohen’s probably not for you. Shame, you’d be missing a razor-sharp if imperfect satirist who recalls Lenny Bruce albeit through a Howard Stern prism. Cohen’s one sick dude, does uncanny voices, and now has nicely upped his political ante.

8 Appalling, Gross Brutes (Out of 10)

Original Article

The true measure of a kids competition movie is how much do the little buggers stick to your craw? In the documentary First Position there are more than a couple standout aspiring ballet dancers, ages 10 - 17, as they prepare for the Youth American Grand Prix, a gala event that annually awards hundreds of thousand dollars in scholarships and contracts with dance companies.

Eleven-year-old Aran, blond and serious as a heart attack, possesses talent that needs to be seen to be believed. Living in Italy, where his father’s an American army doctor, is no handicap whatsoever to the kid, who commutes two hours for lessons from an instructor who dubs Aran a once-in-a-lifetime find.

Twelve-year-old Miko is as innocently compelling as her Japanese mother is obsessively focused on her success. Sixteen-year-old Joan Sebastian moves to America from Colombia without his parents. We follow his progress all the way to becoming the first Colombian accepted into the British Royal School of Ballet, including a side trip as he reunites with his parents back home before the Grand Prix finals. Fourteen-year-old Michaela is an adopted war orphan from Sierra Leone whose fearlessness and verve are matched by her her Jewish mom’s enthusiasm, which includes dyeing Michaela’s flesh-colored tutus brown to match her skin. Being both black and muscular seem to feed her desire to be a ballet dancer rather than dampen it.

As in the equally astute and entertaining spelling bee competition film, Spellbound, kids in First Position seem to have an other worldly knack for their artistic pursuit whatever the degree of parental pushiness.
Miko and Michaela’s moms are at opposite ends of the bossy scale yet both children seem to have an equal inner drive. Michaela’s African experience of surviving her parents’ murder and that of her teachers both reflects and reinforces a great core strength, and she seems to need less steering and guidance. Conversely, Miko’s mom’s almost wacked-out domineering holds its own ironic charm given Miko’s far more laid back personality. There’s even a Philly angle in the film. Michaela trains at the Rock School for Dance Education in the city, and lives in Cherry Hill.

The performances leave you wanting more. Lotsa Swan Lake and flying, spinning tulles. Nothing like a tight, solid documentary profiling irresistible future professionals to offset the amateur stews of reality TV competitions we’re bombarded with like insincere parlor trick pests. In First Position these are real kids doing extraordinary things. Where does it come from? As the mom of Israeli competitor Gaya, who’s nicely captured as a normal kid chumming around offstage with Aran, puts it, “when she goes on stage , her face and mannerisms totally change into that of an adult.” Genius at any age transforms not just the artist but the audience as well.

8 Enthralling, No-Nonsense Kids Stuff (Out Of 10)

Original Article

In Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, newly awakened vampire Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) pines not only for blood but for the good old days of the 1770s. The film’s finest moments cast the mod, earthy 1970s in stark relief against Collins’ steely aplomb as an 18th century gentleman who suddenly finds himself a stranger in a strange land.

Depp shines. His perverse, meticulous accent and brash, commanding presence are strangely intensified rather than offset by his preposterous long fingernails, lofty fangs, and waistcoat finery. Unalloyed Burtonesque art design and costuming prevail, a care-laden ode to an innocent yet befuddling era. When the film suddenly shifts from an opening 18th century scene depicting a curse put on Collins by a scorned maid (Eva Green), to the 1970s and his escape from his coffin, we’re abruptly treated to a tranquil Carpenters track as jarring as a dive into a cold ocean. A later scene of Collins’ hanging out with drugged-out hippies right before he matter-of-factly decides to murder the whole lot, contains just the right amount of lightness. As Collins tries to impress the girl he’s stuck on (a convenient reincarnation of an old girlfriend whose rescue cost him his mortality) by throwing a “ball” here comes the live entertainment, a real Alice Cooper (looking at least 80), lip-synching like there’s no tomorrow. Collins asserts Cooper’s “the ugliest woman I’ve sever seen.”

While I never caught the original, far more serious TV soap Burton based his film on (the Three Stooges were on simultaneously in the same time slot in the Philly market and VCRs were years away), I certainly felt at no disadvantage with this film. It’s a real kick to marvel at Depp’s ability to blend the cocky with the curious. He’s genuinely an outsider as he attempts to restore his family’s position as fishing industry titans while also foiling Green’s nastiness as a business rival who’s also a reincarnated version of the same witch who doomed him 200 years earlier. Their scenes together click. The supporting cast is sharp—Michelle Pfeiffer as the 1970s Collins matriarch, Helen Bonham Carter as a live-in shrink for Pfeiffer’s young nephew (Gully McGrath), and especially Chloe Grace Moretz as Carolyn, Pfeiffer’s disgruntled daughter. As in any Burton film the cast competes with the sets for star billing. Dark Shadows main star, the kind of creepy mansion familiar to even casual movie buffs, towers over Burton’s quirky send-up like a constant, creaky snarl.

Screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith is the author of Abraham Lincoln—Vampire Killer, which comes to the screen next month in a production produced by Burton. As for Depp, no slouch to challenging projects, he’s redoing The Thin Man, playing Tonto in The Lone Ranger, and planning a Dr. Seuss biopic. As far as Dark Shadows goes, don’t hurt yourself seeking out the 1200-plus episodes of its TV forerunner. Embrace this film’s escapism, ignore its stumbles, glom onto Burton’s endearing craftsmanship and Depp’s puffed-up antihero for a leadpipe cinch good time bound not to stretch your brain.

7 — 18th Century Know-It-All’s (Out of 10)

Original Article