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The Infinite Man | SXSW 2014

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What would you do if you could time travel? This is a question I have often asked myself and even fantasized about many times, so when an opportunity presents itself to watch a movie about the subject, of course I’m not only going to be excited about watching such a movie but I’m also going to have high expectations about it.

Disappointment then is definitely not a word I will use to describe the movie The Infinite Man which is written and directed by Hugh Sullivan and stars Josh McConville, Hannah Marshall, Alex Dimitriades and is about a man’s attempts to construct the ultimate romantic weekend. However when his plans backfire his quest for perfection traps his lover in an infinite loop.

Like all memorable Sci fi movies, at it’s core, this is a love story…well sort of; what I mean to say is that all great Sci fi movies reach elevated heights because they eventually become about mundane things that we can all relate to in our everyday lives despite the fact that they are asking us to buy into a totally implausible idea or concept.Well written, brilliantly constructed and exceptionally acted, I laughed, empathized and cried at some point during this movie but I was always entertained and enthralled unable to predict how this mess would end. The Infinite Man captures perfectly the feeling of being in love and that of being consumed by another whilst taking us to the brink of hysteria and obsession all within the perfect rules of the time travel world that it creates.

infinte man

How life actually is vs. what we believe or wish it to be is examined in such a smart, quirky and sweet way. Borrowing cleverly from movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Groundhog Day, Hugh Sullivan has created something tragic, memorable and incredibly romantic in one package. I believe this movie will stay with me for a long time and hope that it quickly finds it’s way to a general release

Chef | SXSW 2014

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SXSW 2014 is underway and this evening we were treated to the headline movie of the day Chef written, directed and starring the extremely talented Jon Favreau.

Chef tells the story of Carl Casper who suddenly quits his job at a prominent Los Angeles restaurant after refusing to compromise his creative integrity for its controlling owner (Dustin Hoffman). As a result, he is left to figure out what’s next. Finding himself in Miami, he teams up with his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara), his friend (John Leguizamo) and his son to launch a food truck. Taking to the road, Chef Carl goes back to his roots to reignite his passion for the kitchen and zest for life and love.

With Food trucks ever popular these days, this is an interesting story about a disillusioned chef at the top of his game who takes to the road to find his mojo again and although the film is very sweet at times mainly due to the wonderful relationship and good acting by the youngest cast member Emjay Anthony who plays Favreau’s son, the flavor of this movie at times is rather confused and overdone. A good example of one too many ingredients that leaves you feeling like you couldn’t manage another spoonful.

Jon Favreau deserves props however for capturing the essence of the quintessential chef, tattooed arms, large frame and a brusque Emeril type character whose kitchen is a delight of plastic bottles filled with exciting colorful concoctions. This along with large amount of food porn that is amazing to watch for those of you who are food lovers keeps you entertained for most of the movie.

Short appearances which feel like amuse bouche by Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman and Oliver Platt are like visits with old friends that whet our appetites but it is a great performance (although not long enough) by the ever talented Robert Downey Junior which is the cherry on the cake in my opinion.

Overall the message of the movie is a worthy one that reminds us to be true to ourselves and that success will come to those of us that work hard and care about what we do. Unfortunately for me however, this didn’t satiate my appetite overall, and left me feeling like I’d chosen the wrong entree

Open Road will release Chef on May 16.

Downloaded | SXSW 2013

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Back in the year 2000, when the rest of the world for worrying about the Y2K bug, we were making the decision to get a broadband connection to enable us faster access to the worldwide web. A big driver of this decision was a new service we had discovered called Napster which enabled us to share music that we had purchased with our friends. More importantly it gave us access to a world of music we had never been exposed to. Imagine my delight then when at this year’s SXSW, the movie Downloaded was playing. Welcome to one of my favorite films of the SXSW 2013 Film festival.

Downloaded written and directed by Alex Winter (yes, that Alex Winter of Bill S Preston fame – Bill and Ted) focuses on the advent of digital media sharing, including the rise of game-changing company Napster and controversial pioneers Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker. The digital revolution ultimately created a technology paradigm shift and upended the music industry. This great documentary has insights from well known music artists and figures within the music industry including: The Beastie Boys’ Mike D, Noel Gallagher, Henry Rollins, former Sony Music Chairman, Don Ienner, former record producer and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and Hilary Rosen, former CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America.

Alex Winter masterfully documents an account of a time and events that in my mind changed history. More importantly he has shared the profile of a young Sean Fanning who has previously been portrayed as an anarchist as a thoughtful and rather lonely young boy who just wanted to push and understand the boundaries of the technology of the time. In addition, we see a very different Sean Parker to the one portrayed in last years hit The Social Network. What particularly resonated with me through the entire movie was the story of the genius young minds behind Napster and what motivated them and it’s not always what you may think it was.

Watching a group of brilliant young minds come together and create something that not only changed the public perception of what they were willing to pay for and which ultimately brought the music industry as it had been for years to it’s knees but also how these young men defend themselves against corporations is fascinating. This is a David vs. Goliath story that is definitely worth a watch.

The biggest treat for me came during the Q and A after the movie when we got to meet Alex, Winter and both the Seans in person. The interaction between the three and especially the Seans just solidified how brilliantly Winter had captured the essence of these incredibly talented young men. If you have any interest in music, entrepreneurialism, dot com or milestones in history, this is a must see documentary

Patang (The Kite) – A Film by Prashant Bhargarva | Review

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Prashant Bhargava is clearly a talented director and writer to be able to bring together both actors and non-actors in this mockumentary style movie which very cleverly blends old Indian outlooks with a fresh non Bollywood storyline

Like its namesake, the movie is light at heart and mostly about the thrill and joy of flying kites during India’s largest kite festival where every year a million kites fill the skies above Ahmedabad-dueling, soaring, tumbling and flying high. Look a little further however and it makes you realize that this is not only a brilliant narrative about general attitudes in India but also about families, relationships and what we hold important in our lives. My heart soared during the highs and beat with anxiety during the lows when much tension is created through great direction, good storytelling and a moving and powerful score

PATANG weaves together the stories of six people transformed by the energy of the festival but centers mainly around a successful Delhi businessman (Jayesh) who takes his daughter (Priya) on a surprise trip back to his childhood home for the festival. Despite the fact that he is an expert kite flyer, he does not count on his visit causing the entire family to confront its own fractured past and fragile dreams. Jayesh and Priya are definitely “city mice” who discover the pleasures and difficulties faced by their “country mice” family. Indeed Priya quickly learns that a mild flirtation can quickly lead to something undesirable when she spots an expert kite flyer in a young local hero called Bobby

Clearly one of the stars of this film is the amazing child star who is as adorable and captivating to watch as the children in “Slumdog Millionaire”. It is hard to believe then that this and the other children in the film are untrained actors who are improvising. It is very easy to watch the beautiful relationship between a young boy Hamid and his older man- friend Chakku a loser who seems to be unable to relate to anyone else especially his adorable and god fearing mother Sudha who only sees the good in every situation

It is difficult to think that a film about kites can really be this exciting and enthralling to watch. Stick with the sometimes difficult to watch patchwork quilt of the storyline and I promise you will not be disappointed.

PATANG (THE KITE) will open Los Angeles exclusively at the Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills on July 20, 2012

In New York, PATANG THE KITE garnered a NY Times Critic Pick and is still playing in New York and Chicago – held over for another week.

The film will continue opening in approximately 18 cities across the US and Canada this summer.
http://vimeo.com/3240664