Tribeca Film Festival 5/1 (UPDATED) - Angelica Blandon Lights up Paraíso Travel

by Tony Dayoub


11:47 am - Waited for my table at Asiáte (80 Columbus Cir., New York, NY, 10023, 212-805-8881), one of the very best restaurants in Manhattan, and definitely the best view. It sits on the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental on Columbus Circle, with floor to ceiling windows that overlook Central Park. As I wait, I see comedian Richard Lewis checking out of the hotel.

11:55am - The maitre'd invites me in to the restaurant. The crisp and clean dining room, separated from the kitchen by a wall of wine bottles, is decorated in soothing beiges and whites. The service is impeccable, with my waiter being knowledgeable about each of the plates I ask for. For the first course, I have a Red Snapper sashimi served over daikon and an avocado mousse cucumber melon gelée, in a mustard ponzu vinaigrette. It was so tasty that I was lamenting the fact that the portion was only enough for a taste. But happily, this was helpful in keeping me open to the more generous main course, Suckling Pig prepared three ways, with braised kale in a sweet plantains smoked ginger jus. The pork is prepared as a croquette (which was not heavily fried), roasted (with its crispy skin still attached), and finally, as a broiled tenderloin, which was the most rewarding.

I follow my waiter's recommendation and get the Chocolate Fondant for dessert. It is the perfect end to the meal, essentially a molten chocolate souffle, arriving in a tall cup, served next to a bowl of marscapone sorbet, with raspberry granité (shaved ice). And the biggest surprise, for a restaurant of its kind it was not too expensive. Very heartily recommended!

4:20 pm - I arrive to the Village East Cinemas to watch Celia the Queen, the new documentary by Joe Cardona and Mario de Varona. I anticipated this one with some interest, as the subject is very near and dear to me, a Miami-born Cuban. It covers the rise of the singer, Cuban guarachera Celia Cruz, starting in Cuba, then New York, and eventually Miami. This has been the only film I've arrived at so far where I've had to wait in such a long line.

The doc doesn't disappoint. It's biggest strength is the charismatic Cruz herself, and her music, of course. There is also very interesting footage of her time with Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colón, and the rest of the Fania All-Stars, the famous 70's Nuyorican conjunto, which is the unspoken heart of the film. The only drawbacks, which are easily remedied, are some unnecessary bridging sequences starring Christina Christian (formerly of American Idol) as a young Celia Cruz. I'd lose them, because the material is strong enough to stand on its own.

With fascinating interviewees, from here in the US (including David Byrne, Wyclef Jean, and Quincy Jones) to far-flung Tokyo, Celia the Queen proves that "Azucar!" can be found anywhere in the world.

6:45 pm - Paraíso Travel (pictured at top) is an accomplished Colombian film by Simon Brand, starring Ana de la Reguera (Nacho Libre), John Leguizamo (Love in the Time of Cholera), and two bright relative unknowns, Aldemar Correa and Angelica Blandon. Correa and Blandon play a young Colombian couple that become separated after arriving illegally in New York. As we follow Correa's Marlon through his travails in New York, and his search for his girlfriend, Blandon's Reina, flashbacks inform us of their painful, laborious, journey to get here after visiting the titular travel agency.

Correa is sympathetic as Marlon, haunted by the ghost of his long-missing girlfriend in a way that no one seems to understand. No one save for us, who see the sorrowful experience they went to in order to reach the U.S., only to be separated hours after their arrival. The fact that Marlon was perfectly content in Colombia until Reina convinced him to join her adds to the tragedy of their separation.

The real discovery is Angelica Blandon, whose lusty Reina is so alluring and vivacious, that her absence is deeply felt whenever the story switches to the present. Blandon is honest in her portrayal, showing Reina's desperation to come to New York to us, if not to Marlon. She is unafraid to reveal Reina's more manipulative moments, moments which could easily turn us against the character, except somehow, we are just as in love with the missing girl as Marlon is. Sly and seductive, Blandon is an actress I predict will become a big star, both in her native country and ours.

Paraíso Travel is one not to miss, and probably the best film I've seen at the festival.

Tribeca Film Festival 5/3: Speed Racer World Premiere

by Tony Dayoub

5:53 pm - Speed Racer, the new film directed by the Wachowski Brothers, had its world premiere this past Saturday at the Tribeca Film Festival. Among the stars arriving via the red carpet were Robert De Niro, co-founder of the festival, and Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst. Also in attendance were the film's producer, Joel Silver, and most of the cast, including Christina Ricci (Trixie), Susan Sarandon (Mom), Christian Oliver (Snake Oiler), and Paulie Litt (Spritle).

Also there, John Goodman, who plays Speed's dad, Pops, and is a fan of the original show, said "[The cartoon] was different from anything that was on before." When asked if he would appear in the Wachowskis' next film, he responded, "They're great. Andy gives me all kinds of great fiction to read. We're kind of tuned into the same stuff. I hope so."

Peter Fernandez voiced Speed Racer on the American version of the Japanese import, but now plays a race announcer in the new summer movie. Primarily a voice actor, he hadn't appeared in front of the camera in some time, joking, "I make a feature film every 60 years."

Kick Gurry, who plays Sparky, Speed's mechanic, spoke of the difficulty with working on a film with no actual props. "John [Goodman's] character has to design the cars, and I have to fix them. We'd always laugh, because we actually had absolutely no idea what the hell the cars were made of, or what they were doing. In fact, most of the time, there wasn't even a car sitting there. It was all computer generated."

Lead actor Emile Hirsch, echoed the sentiment, "You really have to put your imagination to work."

8:34 pm - In the movie, Speed Racer, potentially the greatest auto racer of all time, refuses to break the records set by his late brother and idol, Rex. Sought by industrialist Royalton (played with evil relish by Roger Allam) to join his race team, he refuses to betray his father, who wisely sees the depth of Royalton's corruption. But when that leads to Speed being blacklisted in the racing community, he must join the masked Racer X (Matthew Fox) to bring the villainous businessman down.

Fox deepens his voice a notch to play the mysterious Racer X. X is much more charismatic than his more famous role, the tiresome Jack in the TV hit, Lost. Clever, agile, and clad in a cool suit of black leather, I'd be very surprised if Racer X doesn't get his own movie spin-off, as he is arguably more popular than Speed.

Exciting and fast-paced, Speed Racer can be hard to keep up with if you're not tuned in. Approaching the film as if it were animated, the Wachowski's take advantage of the flexibility the medium affords in telling a story. They use wipes to transition from shot to shot rather than cuts. Foreground and background are always in focus simultaneously, as in most animated fare. Awash in brilliant colors and effects meant to duplicate some of the conventions of Japanese anime, it might lose some older folks, but kids and the young at heart should have no problem keeping up.

11:17pm - Took the train up to the Village with my friend, J.C. Alvarez, to get dinner at the Waverly Inn and Garden (16 Bank St., New York, NY, 10014, 212-243-7900). The Waverly is a bustling, hip restaurant owned by Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair. There's always a few celebrity sightings, and this night was no different. Sitting in the back of the restaurant when we arrived was Ron Perlman of Hellboy fame, and Miami Steve of the E Street Band, aka Silvio Dante of The Sopranos, Steven Van Zandt.

And the food? It was delicious, I started off with a Tuna Tartare, with avocado and dijon emulsion, that was perfect both in taste and presentation. That was followed with the Brook Trout on Cedar plank with roasted carrots, which were appropriately toasty and savory. For dessert, an awesome warm Bananas Foster served with a scoop of ice cream. J.C. enjoyed the Amish Free-Range chicken followed by a warm apple crisp, also served with ice cream.

The service was excellent, as we were well taken care of by five different waiters on a crowded Saturday night, with no one dropping the ball even once.

This was the perfect way to end my time at Tribeca, before heading home to Miami the next day.

A slightly modified version of this entry first appeared on Blogcritics on 5/5/2008.

Still provided courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

Tribeca Film Festival 5/3 (UPDATED)- Cadillac Award Winner Announced and List of the Other Awards

by Tony Dayoub

The Cadillac Award for Audience Choice was announced and it is: War Child, dir. C. Karim Chrobog.

The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature - Let the Right One In, dir. Tomas Alfredson

Best Documentary Feature - Pray the Devil Back to Hell, dir. Gini Reticker

Best New Narrative Filmmaker - My Marlon and Brando, dir. Huseyin Karabey

Best New Documentary Filmmaker - Old Man Bebo, dir. Carlos Carcas

Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film (tie) - Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello, Somers Town

Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film - Eileen Walsh, Eden

New York State LOVES Film Best Documentary Award - Zoned In, dir. Daniela Zanzotto

Made in NY Narrative - The Caller, dir. Richard Ledes

Best Narrative Short - New Boy, dir. Steph Green

Best Documentary Short - Mandatory Service, dir. Jessica Habie

Student Visionary Award - Elephant Garden, dir. Sasie Sealy

All of the award-winners will have special screenings today. For more info go to the Tribeca Film Festival website.

Tribeca Film Festival 4/30 - Icons and Iconoclasts

by Tony Dayoub

Day 2 - 11:29 am - Made my way down to Union Square, and took in the sights and smells at the Farmer's Market, since I had a few minutes before the start of the next film, Chevolution.

12:45 pm - Chevolution, a documentary directed by, is a slickly produced piece focusing on the ubiquitous image of Che Guevara, known as Guerrillero Heroico, that has become so iconic, it is purported to be the most reproduced photographic image of all time (according to the V & A Museum in London). The doc strives to place the image in a historical, political, artistic and ethical context. Directed by Trisha Ziff and Luis Lopez, it is a film edited and shot for maximum aesthetic impact. Unfortunately, it is to the detriment of the film's thesis.

While the historical and artistic context are well described in the feature, short shrift is given to some of the realities of the politics involved. Much is made of the fact that Che was an idealistic revolutionary, and how the capitalism inherent in the use of his image on T-shirts would have been anathema to Guevara's socialist philosophy. But little voice is given to the opposing viewpoint that this idealistic revolutionary was also responsible for executions of many Cuban dissidents during his tenure as comandante of Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba in the early 1960s. True, the dissenting viewpoint appears in the film, but it is only after more than an hour of establishing Guevara's heroic mystique. And this viewpoint is spoken of way too briefly, and by too few interviewees, to give the argument any weight.

While I wouldn't go as far as calling the film propaganda, as many in the exile community in Miami probably will (if it ever sees the light of day there), I will say that the film feels slanted without the balance that viewpoint would provide.

5:33 pm - Dinner at Pazza Notte (1375 6th Ave, 212-765-6288) is a nice surprise, with prompt service, and serviceable if not stellar food. Started with the wonderful Beef Carpaccio for my antipasto. The main course was the Baccala con Succo di Zafferano, a roasted Chilean sea bass in saffron sauce with sauteed spinach and fingerling potatoes. The fish was perfect, flaking off easily with that melt-in-your-mouth texture. However, they went a little overboard on the saffron sauce, which masked, instead of enhanced, the taste of the sea bass. The sauteed spinach was crisp, but entirely too much garlic was used in its preparation, as it took me several minutes to extract it.


7:00 pm - At the Museum of Modern Art, Tribeca, in conjunction with Paramount Pictures and MoMA, presented its final restoration of a cinema classic, Once Upon a Time in the West. Directed by Sergio Leone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), starring Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Charles Bronson, Gabriele Ferzetti, and Jason Robards, this is probably his most underrated western (although Duck, You Sucker is gaining a new status in that category). The film was introduced by Barry Allen of Paramount's film restoration department (who is so obviously happy with his rewarding career). He was beaming as he described the amount of work that went into restoring the film's color (difficult considering the film was shot in the now non-existent Techniscope format), and its now revelatory soundtrack.

Leone shot parts of this film in the red-earthy Monument Valley, an homage to John Ford's earlier westerns. He went to great lengths to match the red dust in scenes he shot in other locales, importing much of that earth to those locations. This restoration makes that effort worthwhile, as the brilliant reds are much more evident than in previous releases.

Leone was one of the pioneers when it came to designing the use of sound to manipulate his audience. The first scene of this movie is a perfect example of how he ratchets up the tension by minimizing the dialogue and moving the ambient sound to the fore. Three men wait to ambush the protagonist at a train station. The creak of the wooden floorboards as Woody Strode's bad man walks across the platform; henchman Jack Elam's blowing off the buzzing fly that keeps annoying him because he's too lazy to swat it; and the weather vane's unique high-pitched squeal as it turns in the wind are all memorable. The restored soundtrack is a revelation. We can hear even the background extras distinctly as they make small talk when Cardinale's Mrs. McBain is unloading her bags from the train.

I was ecstatic at the experience of sharing this film with an audience for the first time. The packed house was gleeful in all the same places that I've always been, and the film got a standing ovation. Hope to see this one released on DVD or Blu-ray soon.

11:05 pm - Acerbic cartoonist Bill Plympton presents his Idiots and Angels, after which he will answer questions. In his introduction, he says two key facts: it is his birthday, and he thinks this film is the first he's made that has the potential to break out. Though I have never seen one of his feature-length films, I am excited, since I have enjoyed many of his droll short films. This one's about a really malicious man who starts sprouting angel wings, symbolic of the last bit of good he has within him, and his efforts to get rid of them.

Two things: I never enjoy films I start after 11:00 pm, and I usually start nodding off (and possibly snoring) at about this time. So I'm good for the first twenty minutes before I feel like the film is starting to drag. The woman next to me, who professed to being the biggest Plympton fan in the city, has only chuckled twice. Plympton is waiting outside for the film to finish, so he can come in and do a Q & A. I don't know at what point I started to nod off, but I do know at what point I started feeling guilty about it. Just the night before, I was so pissed that some guy in front of me snored through Toby Dammit, and here I was ruining it for others. But what a dilemma... I didn't want to walk out of the theater and confront the obviously inspired Plympton. I didn't want him to think that his movie failed, when I myself wasn't sure. Besides, it should be over by 12:20 am. I could soldier on till then.

12:10 am - I walked out of the theater with only ten minutes left to go. I just couldn't bear the discomfort anymore, and decided to take my chances. After all, Plympton wouldn't be right outside the theater, right? Wrong. I almost tripped over his legs as he sat in the hallway just outside the door, and I tried not making eye contact.

So as far this film goes, I reserve judgement... for obvious reasons.

MoMA Presents: Once Upon a Time in the West continues its exhibition thru Monday, May 5th, at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St, between 5th and 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019-5497, (212) 708-9400.

Tribeca Film Festival 4/29 - Dennis Hopper Makes Surprise Appearance at Premiere of Restored Night Tide

by Tony Dayoub

Day 1 - 1:17 pm - I arrived into LaGuardia half an hour late, picked up my bags at baggage claim, where a locust-like group of hustlers start trying to convince me why I should skip the taxi line and pay more to share their cab with another passenger. SCAMMERS!!! Welcome to New York... I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!!

1:24 pm - My much cooler cab driver, Fariq, drove me into the city through scenic Spanish Harlem. I'm staying in the Upper East side, at lovely Amy Coward's apartment (thank you so much), with a nice view of Roosevelt Island. I order a Ham sandwich from Hot and Crusty (1201 Second Ave, 212-753-2614), which is delivered to my door (did I tell you how much I miss this place?), and off to work it is.

3:46 pm - Right about the time I finished sending a lot of you readers my promotional email, I realized I hadn't showered, and I was going to have to take the 4 train down to Tribeca to catch the first film, Curtis Harrington's restored Night Tide (1961), which starts at 5pm. Did I tell you how much I hate New York?

4:33 pm -Made it to the platform, just as the train arrived, so I hop in. I have a few minutes to relax and get my bearings, except... I'm on the wrong train, the W headed towards Whitehall.

4:56 pm - Jumped off at Canal St. and walked through Chinatown for 45 minutes (now I know what my wife must have felt like the first time she was in Little Havana) trying to find the small screening room at Pace University.

5:41 pm - Boy, am I late. Luckily, I only missed the short film preceding the feature (or unluckily, some would say, as this was Harrington's little seen early experimental film, Picnic). But what a wonderful surprise. Last minute arrangements were made to have a Q&A with Night Tide's lead actor, Dennis Hopper. 72 years old, and the man still emanates cool as he assuredly strolls down to the podium to speak.

Night Tide is about a young sailor (Hopper) on liberty in Venice Beach, California. He meets a young lady named Mora who works as an amusement park "mermaid," sitting in a tank that appears to be full of water, wearing a fish tail. But with two former boyfriends now dead, she may actually be a mythological siren, luring men to their demise with her beauty and feminine wiles. The surreal film is interesting in its collision of the film noir genre with a touch of the horror genre. Hopper's performance appears improvised, and demonstrates some of the ability to carry a movie that allowed him to go on to a legendary career. The Academy-restored print was bright and clean, and apparently had just been brought over from the lab.

As if the movie wasn't odd enough, someone had accidentally transposed the second and third reels, leading to some unintended surreal, and humorous, moments.

Some interesting points Hopper spoke of:

• This was Harrington's first feature film, and it was a non-union film, preventing it from being shown in theaters for close to 3 years.
• Hopper had been released from his contract with Warner Bros. where he had already been in movies such as Rebel Without a Cause, Giant, and Gunfight at the OK Corral.
• This was Dennis Hopper's first lead role.
• Hopper was and is a strong supporter of nascent filmmakers, having supported not only Harrington, but notable underground filmmakers Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger.
• Luana Anders, who costars, was later cast by Hopper as Peter Fonda's girlfriend in his own directorial debut, Easy Rider. She also wrote some things for Francis Coppola and appeared in his first studio film, The Rain People.
• Among Hopper's performing influences were Marlon Brando and James Dean, but this performance was influenced greatly by Montgomery Clift's acting.

7:36 pm - Stopped by Nobu Tribeca (105 Hudson St, 212-219-0500) where I ate some of the best and freshest sushi I had in a long time (Atlanta being quite a ways inland, it is not really known for its fresh fish). I highly recommend the Tiraditos, delicate thinly-sliced whitefish with a pinhead-size drop of spicy red chile sauce and cilantro leaves. There is also the Yellowtail sashimi with a slice of jalapeño on top. If raw food is not your thing, try the miso-glazed black cod, or the beef tenderloin in teriyaki sauce, which was prepared perfectly at the medium temperature I asked for, and served with a variety of mushrooms on the side. The service was excellent too, as I was in a hurry to catch my next film, and made it out in less than an hour.

9:00 pm - Four short films, directed by Isabella Rossellini for the Sundance Channel, showing the mating habits of insects, are shown before the feature, Toby Dammit. The films, called Green Porno, were meant to be shown on cell phones, but I can't see how they'll be tossed away like that. They are educational, strange, and some of the funniest viral video out there. All 8 videos will be available at http://www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno?go=watch and on all Helio mobile devices on May 5th.

Toby Dammit is a short film that was originally part of a troika of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations released as Spirits of the Dead. This one, based on Poe's Never Bet the Devil Your Head, was directed by Federico Fellini, and stars Terence Stamp. It was just restored by the film's original cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno in conjunction with the Cineteca Nazionale de Italia for the Ornella Muti Network. Ornella Muti is an Italian actress best known stateside for playing Princess Aura in Flash Gordon (1980). But she is also one of the leading contributors to film restoration in Italy. What we saw last night was essentially a sneak preview, as Toby Dammit is actually the opening film of the 2008 Taormina Film Fest in Sicily.


The film was Rotunno's first with Fellini, but he went on to become the cinematographer on all of his subsequent films. It's easy to see why, with the restoration finished. The film's color and contrast is brilliant, and well-defined. This is one of my favorite movies, and I owned the original DVD by Image, which was atrocious, just because I liked it so much. When Janus Films (the people behind the Criterion Collection) released a much improved version, I quickly ran out to purchase it. But it looks like I may have to do it one more time (no plans for a DVD yet) because this restoration borders on the revelatory. And what a movie to choose to restore.

Terence Stamp, a powerful British actor in the 1960's (now know primarily for his campy General Zod in Superman and Superman II), plays an alcoholic actor on a downward spiral. He keeps encountering the devil as he declines further and further, personified as a strange white-haired little girl bouncing a ball. The movie captures an uncomfortable feeling of suspension in time that I've never seen done to such great effect as I have here. If you have the opportunity, seek this one out once it becomes available, or just rent the current version on Netflix.

An Apology, an Announcement and Something Pretty Funny...

by Tony Dayoub

I apologize for a relatively slow week here at the site. I've been working on a myspace page to promote the site. We'll hopefully be on Facebook soon. Here's what I've got so far. Go check it out, and leave any comments on any improvements you'd like to see.



Secondly, I've been working overtime to get ready for my trip to New York where I'll be covering the Tribeca Film Festival.I'll be there from 4/29 - 5/3 covering an interesting mix of films which include restorations, documentaries, Latino-themed films, and the World Premiere of a summer blockbuster. Here's the list:

Night Tide
Toby Dammit
Chevolution
Once Upon a Time in the West
Idiots and Angels
Celia the Queen
Paraíso Travel
Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon
President to Remember: In the Company of John F. Kennedy
Lou Reed's Berlin
Ball Don't Lie
Speed Racer

The coverage will probably take the form of dispatches with some more in-depth reviews, and more surprises. My aim is to give you as much of a festival experience as I can. Keep up to date on the festival with the Tribeca/Cadillac widget on this page's sidebar. And keep up to date on my coverage here!

Lastly, the great guys at The Digital Bits have a great post up today. It's about director Uwe Boll, and I'll quote them:

First, a little set-up: Doogan sent me this statement to post the other day, and for some reason it just didn't register on my radar screen. I don't know, my head just wasn't in the game or something. But here's what he sent: "So, our good buddy Lance over at Filmdrunk is known the world over for his velvety smooth writing style, and he's quite possibly the single most badass film critic director Uwe Boll considered way too badass to fight when Boll was challenging film critics to box him a while back. Well, today Lance posted a video comment from the good Dr. Boll himself about the Anti-Boll petition going around the Internet tubes of late. Boll’s apparently not a fan of one-sided fist fights and calls for a Pro-Boll petition. Much like Lance, we wholeheartedly endorse this PRO-BOLL Petition and urge you all to sign your name with ours. Yeah, Boll may be a hack, but he deserves the right to make movies for stoners, drop outs and the elderly – just like everyone else. So click here and join the fight. And tell your friends – we need a million names!"

Okay, so that's what Doogan sends me, right? And I'm all like... WTF?! "Yeah, I'll get it up in the next day or so." And he's thinking it's just gonna get recycle binned and that's that. Now... Doogan is no particular fan of Uwe Boll that I know of. And I think Jahnke's actually laid his life on the line in a review of two of Boll's films on DVD. I can't say I've been much of a fan of the guy either... at least, that is, until I saw the following. It seems that in response to the Anti-Boll petition, which at this point has something like 200,000 signatures, Uwe has posted another video in which he claims to have investigated the petition and discovered that most of the people who signed it are really just Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay, signing it repeatedly under different false identities. Seriously, I'm not kidding. It's priceless. Boll then proceeds to critique a short film made by some of the people who started the Anti-Boll petition ("Internet nerds"), and... well, you just need to see his comments for yourself. Suffice it to say, after having enjoyed a few good giggles over it all, I am now firmly an Uwe fan. This is just self-promotion at its finest. Did we mention Boll has a movie debuting in a few weeks on the same day as Indy 4? He does. So everybody go watch his first video, then his second one, and after you stop laughing go sign the Pro-Boll petition. Doogan, what can I say? When you're right, you're right. Priceless.

Gotta love these guys. Have a great weekend.