On Demand Weekly

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: AN AMERICAN SPORTS STORY...THE RIVALS.
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Watching AN AMERICAN SPORTS STORY...THE RIVALS, the new truth-trumps-fiction documentary making its premiere on The Smithsonian Channel, I couldn’t get Napoleon Dynamite’s forlorn Uncle Rico out of my head. It was nearly impossible for me not to superimpose Uncle Rico’s unabashed pining for his lost glory days onto some of the high school football stars of THE RIVALS. Their future would be his. No matter how hard I tried, I kept hearing Uncle Rico lament, “Ohhhh, man I wish I could go back in time. I'd take state.”

That doesn’t mean AN AMERICAN SPORTS STORY... THE RIVALS is a bad or goofy movie. In fact that’s where any similarities end. And if you haven’t seen NAPOLEON DYNAMITE,  “Gosh!!!!!”

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: I'M STILL HERE.
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Reality TV has been with us for a long time, and will likely be around for the duration. Audiences like it and it’s relatively cheap to make. So why not make a reality movie?

Apparently, Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix are so impressed by the Kim Kardashians and Snookis of the world that they decided to squander their talent and make I’M STILL HERE. The film, we are supposed to believe, documents Mr. Phoenix’s retirement from acting and failed attempt at a hip hop career.

Casey Affleck (Magnolia)

When I invited my friend Dan to join me for the I’M STILL HERE screening he begged off by asking, “Why would I go see a movie about a movie actor who’s acting like he doesn’t want to act any more?” (This from a man who thinks JACKASS 2 is great classic cinema.) Well Dan, I can’t answer that question, even after seeing the movie and even after seeing Joaquin Phoenix on “Late Show with David Letterman” Wednesday  night.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: the documentary covering 2008 Election night, 11/04/08 (FilmBuff).
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Few would doubt the historic significance of a day like November 4, 2008. But what filmmaker Jeff Deutchman is most concerned with is not a grandiose portrayal of a nation built on the backs of African slaves electing its first black president, but rather seeks to democratize the very documentation of history with 11/4/08.

Viewers of the film follow several amateur filmmakers throughout their day, both in U.S. cities and internationally, from 8:00 am to 4:00 am, cataloguing various states of emotion as the world’s most powerful nation goes to the polls. From enthusiastic Obama campaign volunteers whose frenzied anticipation is certainly palpable, to nonchalant Manhattanites who, although recognizing the significance of the day admit that realistically very little will change after the election, the film makers merely seek to expose their unique experience on that day.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: STEVE JOBS: ONE LAST THING (Gravitas).

STEVE JOBS: ONE LAST THING
By Joe Charnitski

I visited the Apple Store near Central Park shortly after the untimely passing of Steve Jobs. I wanted to see the memorials and the crowds for myself. There were dozens, maybe hundreds of people either standing silently, as if at a sacred site, or slowly streaming by, rubber necking to see the many cards, bouquets and, of course, apples that had been strewn along the front of the store in memoriam.

I was a little surprised at the substantial outpouring of sadness from young and old set off by Jobs’ death. Not because I didn’t consider him a significant figure in our new century and the previous, or that I didn’t appreciate the contributions of his products, his vision and, not to be overlooked, his treasured “Think Different” campaign of the late-90s. I assumed the response would mirror the reaction to the death of any beloved celebrity. This, instead, felt like a national tragedy.

I was similarly surprised by the one-hour documentary STEVE JOBS: ONE LAST THING. It starts off as a fairly routine “before he was famous” story. We go back to Jobs’ home town, walk the streets he grew up on, meet the friends he knew then. Everyone talks about how Steve was something special. They all knew he would do great things one day. Nothing shocking here.

As the film goes on, though, I couldn’t help but find it compelling, because Jobs is so damn compelling. His resilience is so compelling. The film includes a few interviews Jobs had done over the years. In one of them, when he was much younger, he describes the important moment he realized that everything around him that we call “life” was created by people no smarter than him, or any of us he demands. Once you understand that, Jobs insists, you realize that you can do anything, and then you do.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: PASSIONE (FilmBuff).

PASSIONE
By Amy Slotnick

When first watching John Turturro’s documentary, PASSIONE, the evocative music and expressive performers of Naples, Italy are captivating, tempting you to hop on a flight and immerse yourself in what the filmmakers call a “musical adventure.”

Although choreography, romantic locations, interviews and some onscreen narration from Turturro provide rough outlines of a context for the music, the film suffers from a lack of any narrative. Instead, it relies on the music and staging, mostly in the streets of Naples, to sustain the film on its own.

The musicians, both professional and amateur, perform a total of 23 songs in the film. Through their interviews and performances a relationship between Neapolitan music and its culture emerges, gradually and subtly. The songs take dominance over the story, and consequently there is little driving the pace and story forward. In other words, one could stop watching half way through and not miss any developments or turns.

A brilliant actor who clearly understands how to develop character relationships and narrative threads, as he did with his directorial debut ROMANCE & CIGARETTES, Turturro seems to be consciously asking the audience to let go of any expectations for a documentary about music. Instead of BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB, this film is more neo-realist, concert film.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: FIRST POSITION (Sundance Selects).

FIRST POSITION
By Amy Slotnick

The prestigious Youth America Grand Prix is like the Olympics of dance, where the world’s best classical dance students compete for scholarships or placement with the top ballet schools and companies. Director Bess Kargman’s first feature documentary film, FIRST POSITION, follows six gifted dancers, ranging in age, ethnic and economic backgrounds, all of whom share a dream to satisfy their unique gift and passion.

Over 5,000 dancers compete worldwide, and of those, 300 make it to the YAGP finals in New York City. The six dancers featured in the film, aged 11-16, come from places as diverse as Sierra Leone, Columbia and Israel. They have all sacrificed childhood normalcy in exchange for intense dedication, long hours of practice and physical abuse (you should see their feet!).

They each have a compelling narrative involving endurance and talent, equivalent to that of any professional athlete.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: GOD SAVE MY SHOES (Gravitas).

GOD SAVE MY SHOES
By Amy Slotnick

Although you first might think this is another fashion documentary, one that explores the history, design and obsession with women’s shoes. However, GOD SAVE MY SHOES is actually more about addiction than anything else.

Julie Benasra’s documentary provides a thorough analysis of shoes as pop culture icons and fetishized objects. Interviews with top designers, such as Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin, shoe collectors, like performers Kelly Rowland, Fergie, Dita Von Teese and poker player Beth Shak (who owns over 900 pairs), as well as sexuality experts, fashion historians, orthopedists and psychologists, explore the power, sexual and social implications of the famous stiletto heel. More than once SEX & THE CITY is credited with exploiting women’s attraction to stiletto heels and bringing them to the forefront of today’s fashion and pop culture.

Several theories emerge about what draws some women so obsessively to buy an impractical quantity of shoes at increasing heights. On the one hand, by minimizing the height difference with men, the high heel can be seen as increasing a woman’s power, putting her on eye-level with male counterparts. On the other hand, they limit a woman’s mobility and if heels were a way to increase power, as one of the film’s experts observes, they would be coveted and worn by men (as they were at one time in the 18th century).