Wild Indian made it's debut at Sundance 2021
Wild Indian stars Makwa (Michael Greyeyes), a young Anishinaabe boy, is dealing with two pretty terrible parents.. He's abused, he's neglected and all of the trauma pours over into his mental health. He and his only friend, Ted-O, like to escape by playing in the woods, until the day Makwa murders a schoolmate. It's a shocking and unexpected moment that leaves you considering whether to blame nature or nurture. After covering up the crime, the two boys go on to live verydifferent lives. Now, as adult men, we see these two different paths converge and the outcome is once again, unsettling. Makwa has become professionally powerful but has not shed the ghosts from his past. Makwa is juggling the married man life with his wife (Kate Bosworth), his executive life where we meet his eager employee (Jesse Eisenberg) and his sociopathic/creeper life. Talk about a lot going on.
A bit about composer Gavin Brivik
It was a pleasure to sit down with the mind behind the film score of Wild Indian Gavin Brivik. The candid conversation flowed easily and could have probably continued for a few more hours. Brivik is a composer best known for his work on the Netflix original series Living Undocumented (2019), the 90th Academy Award Nominated film My Nephew Emmett(2018) and the Blumhouse/Netflix Original film Cam (2018).
We talk about breaking into the industry, hitching your cart the "right horse" and how sometimes you have to place bets on yourself and a film to get your foot in the door into Hollywood. Albeit for many of these up-and-coming score designers, the cart has no wheels and the the bets are free.
Wild Indian hasn't been picked up for release yet, but in the meantime, enjoy Gavin Brivik's work!
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Valentine's Day is just behind us, but we're still feeling a little swoony and amorous. That's why our next episode is going to be dedicated to those movie moments that make us feel all tingly and gushy inside, with our picks for the top 5 love scenes in movie history. Maybe they're as sweet as a first kiss on a spring day; maybe they're as hot and steamy as the lead-up to a round of athletic screwing; maybe they involve very prim Brits in seventeen layers of clothing finding the moral strength to refer to each other by first names. Whatever the case, if it made us feel that pang of romantic longing, you can expect to see it on our lists.
In Worth Mentioning we cover Little Fish, The Mauritanian and Rams.
You've probably never heard of Little Fish and that's a real problem. It's like when you hear some 14 year old, who is also an Inta-Snap-Tic-Tac-Toe influencer, makes bazillions of dollars singing auto-tuned rhymes, while the actual musical geniuses are eating ramen and playing at dive bars in Chicago.
I'll get this out of the way first, the "will love prevail in the face of imminent disaster?" trope has my name all over it
It worked for me in Eternal Sunshine, and Perfect Sense and it worked for me big time in Little Fish. It probably helps to add that our love story begins with Olivia Cooke and Jack O'Connell, whose chemistry will ignite your own memories of those first intense months of a relationship, destined for more than smooches (if you know what I'm sayin'). As we all come to find, relationships can be hard. They're made even more difficult when a global virus is spreading quickly and robs you of your memories. I'll just leave the plot there, because Little Fish ends up being so much more about the experience of the film than anything else.
Mattson Tomlin based Little Fish on a short story by Aja Gabel and is brought to life by the creative mind of Chad Hartigan. We had a chance to sit down with Hartigan and talk about how he was able to capture the intensity of their fear, grief and love, simultaneously making us feel a bit like we were either dreaming or on drugs. We really enjoyed our time with Hartigan and we hope you will too!
Watch Little Fish with your partner who doesn't like to watch movies with you
Just some unsolicited relationship advice, that's all. There's something in it for you, there's something in it for them and for any couple that has defied the dire current relationship statistics, compromise is almost always the answer.
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I'll put my hand on the bible right now and tell you right now that Mother Schmuckers will be the weirdest movie you'll see all year. Weirder than The Holy Mountain. Well, maybe equally weird but in such different ways. There's fecal consumption and bestiality and plenty of unshaven-body nudity. What am I even saying, it's exactly The Holy Mountain.
I'm going to plagiarize the Sundance's synopsis of Mother Schmuckersbecause frankly, I have no idea what I saw
Two low-down, rotten brothers named Issachar and Zabulon are starving and can’t seem to scrounge up a meal anywhere. Things only get worse when they lose the beloved dog belonging to their mom, Cashmere, who kicks them out of the family apartment until they return her nippy little January Jack. Things are going to get uncomfortably bizarre with these two dopes on the run in the ruthless urban jungle of Brussels.
Filthy and yet oh-so-charming, the Belgian filmmaking duo of Harpo and Lenny Guit (who will likely never be confused with the other Belgian directing duo, the Dardenne brothers) are quite the Midnight discovery. Their madcap adventure goes gross Three Stooges. It’s sparkling with energy, lo-fi visual trickery, and the ingenuity to make every creative decision equal parts surprising and ridiculous. Mother Schmuckers is sure to offend some—hell, that’s the point—but it is destined to find cult comedy status.
Contains graphic depictions of animal abuse, sexual violence, and other subject matter that could be offensive to some viewers. Not suitable for audiences under 18.
Not suitable for audiences under 38, actually
Mother Schmuckers was all a bit overwhelming for my sensibilities. Its gross gags build on each other, each time becoming more shocking. To be clear, it started with pan-fried poop. What's even more shocking is that somewhere in its 70 min runtime, a bit of charm emerges. If you put your brain on pause and forget the horrifying nature of what you're watching, you see two very wildly imaginative young directors who are having so much fun. They are trying to shock you and to make you uncomfortable. They hope that you're questioning whether you should turn it off, but end up watching until the end. For these things, Mother Schmuckers is a huge success.
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In the chaos of Sundance we had about 10 minutes to spare. Luckily Raspberry was just 7 breezy minutes between me and snagging some lunch. At minute 1 my eyes were quickly pooling with water, by minute 2 I had tears streaming down my face, by minute 3 I was laughing, at minute 4 I was laughing through sobs, coming in at minute 5 I was audibly crying and sucking back nose drool, rolling on to minute 6 I was in shock and by the final minute I had a tension headache.
Raspberry is a film you have to experience for yourself
There is basically one plot point that is a spoiler, so don't worry, I'll steer clear. A family is grieving the timely loss of their father and husband. With almost no dialogue, we have a sense of the family dynamics and each child's relationship with their Dad. What's more, we understand their fears and insecurities and how they are respectively dealing with their personal tragedy. The experience of Raspberry is deeply personal and offers its viewer a glimpse into the sometimes awkward situations we can't avoid.
While it was mostly ugly crying for me, there is some levity brought by Raymond Lee. It's little things like movements and ever-so slightly jarring sounds, that make you giggle.
Julian Doan played my heart like a mandolin
In our interview with writer/director Julian Doan, he basically explains to us that every single emotional beat was planned. Every noise, every gesture was expertly created to sear my heart. Like I said, Raspberry feels born of personal experience and because of that, Doan sharing the film being a way to process his final moments with his own father was slightly less of a gut punch. I mean, it was still like when you catch your pinky toe on the coffee table, but at least I felt like I saw it coming.
I know you're probably shaking your head because I know you think I'm a giant mush-ball that's an easy-sell for a movie like this, so if you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe Tim.
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I'm going to tag this post as #journalingforwellness and #freetherpy and hope that you don't throw rotten tomatoes at me as a traverse my feelings on Cowboys. The last few years has forced me to grapple with some hard truths about myself. I've spent the majority of my life thinking that I was "good" just because I don't care what you look like, who who love or how you live your life. But that complacency has made me so terribly ignorant.
Somehow I thought I was "better" because I didn't ask questions, because being inquisitive means that you see somebody differently and because I DON'T CARE, I now have so much to learn. Ugh.
A bit about Cowboys...
The story at its core introduces us to Josie "Joe" (Sasha Knight), who is a 10 year old kid that is acutely aware he was born in the "wrong body" and identifies as a boy. Joe gets up the courage to tell his parents that he wants to nix the dresses his Mom keeps pushing on him and live and present as a young man. His parents' response is mixed and friction arrises between Troy (Steve Zahn) and Sally (Jillian Bell). At this point, Troy does what all good spouses do when you disagree on parenting - he flees the state with his son, in search of Canada (because everybody is kind there, as you know). Though, it's much more complicated than that. While you're probably thinking "GO ZAHHHN!", he struggles with fractures in his own mental health that make running off into the wild, not the most solid parenting decision. 
Preparing for our interview with the cast of Cowboys...
Two interviews were ahead of us. The first with Sasha Knight and Steve Zahn, followed by a conversation with Jillian Bell and Anna Kerrigan. While Sasha is playing a trans character, he is also trans "in real life." It was so, so (so) important to me to non-creepily convey my admiration for his bravery to represent the trans community. I'm still not really sure if I succeeded, but you can listen to the interview to judge me quietly. Admittedly, while we were thinking through our questions for Knight and Zahn, I felt overwhelmed by all of my potential missteps or any possibility that I might hurt a single feeling. So, I phoned a friend (well, two actually). Our good friends daughter came out as trans a couple years ago and not only are they wonderfully supportive of their daughter, they are wonderfully supportive of educating their friends.
I asked so many nit picky questions - "can I say in the trans community? because if I say that, does it imply that you're not in MY community?" Like, REALLY nit picky. I spent so must time worrying about what I wanted to say to Knight, I ran out of time to fully think through what I wanted to say to Steve Zahn and Jillian Bell.
Did the fear meet reality...
My goodness. Sasha Knight is the first child-actor I've interviewed and realize now that it totally triggered Mom-mode. I sort of forgot Zahn was there for a bit and zeroed in on school and how much fun he had being a part of such a big movie. I was so impressed by the poise and polish of this young 10 year old, whose confidence is no doubt built on the foundation of his supportive parents (who were sweetly whispering in the background of the interview). Zahn reminded us that he was a part of the movie by jumping in on a few questions too.
We also had a chance to talk to Jillian Bell and director Anna Kerrigan. If you were wondering, Rob was able to squeeze in a joke about "running a marathon" with Bell, which received an audible eye roll (ha!). With these two we spent more time talking about the message of movie and what they hope viewers take away.
And while I probably agree with with Brennan's review, that Cowboys is entry level LGBTQ cinema, we all have to start somewhere!
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Jockey didn’t make my most anticipated list of Sundance, because frankly, horse movies usually depress me. The horse always gets injured or dies or gets injured and then dies and who amongst us really needs that kind of heartbreak right now?
Well shame on me for judging
In a surprising turn, I don’t even really remember much about a horse in Jockey. I mean, there definitely is a horse and there is definitely horse racing but the tragedy is wrapped up in the self-destructive addiction to a profession, which he believes gives him purpose. In so many ways it’s reminiscent of Sound of Metal, in that you’ll be tightly clenching your teeth and yelling “JUST STOP” with exasperation, for most of the film.
A bit more about Jockey from the festival program
Seasoned horse jockey Jackson (Clifton Collins Jr.) has weathered decades of races on the riding circuit, but he now finds himself facing what could be his last season as his health deteriorates. With the help of Ruth (Molly Parker) and a promising new horse, Jackson starts to prepare for the upcoming championship. His plans take a left turn when a budding young jockey (Moisés Arias) shows up and claims to be his son. Caught between yearning for a connection and uncertainty about his own future, Jackson confronts difficult questions regarding his legacy.
Shot at a live racetrack and with a keen eye for veracity, Jockey gives us an achingly personal window into a world we’ve never seen up close before, where fortunes are flipped upside down from one moment to the next and the freedom of riding comes at a grueling physical price. Collins delivers an intimately layered performance guided by director Clint Bentley, whose own experiences imbue authenticity and naturalism into this moving portrait of a sport unlike any other.
Clifton Collins Jr. undoubtedly gives an outstanding performance that earned him the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Actor. Personally, I thought that Moisés Arias’ (who you might remember as the best part of Five Feet Apart) performance was really great, as well.
About the interview with the cast from Jockey
We had a link to a panel conversation following the movie, which usually are the cast on a ZOOM link with a moderator asking questions. It was 8pm, so I jumped up to put our kiddos to bed and Rob decided to pop in to check out the conversation (from bed, in his nighty shirt). When I came back 20 minutes later, Rob was nowhere to be found. He did emerge finally from the basement (after I had dealt with 30 minutes of the kids demanding water and snacks and other absurd things). The story goes, that when Rob joined the ZOOM, he was one of 4 other press members and Clifton asked why “this Rob Jarosinski guy wasn’t joining on the video.” Which triggered a frantic search for a hat and a race to the basement to plug in and record.
So please enjoy this unique episode with Clifton Collins Jr., Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar!
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Well, Sundance is over and we're all breathing a collective sigh of exhausted relief. Over the course of 5 days, we cumulatively watched over 50 features and shorts. While our experiences were wildly different, with Tim watching at least 7 films a day and cranking out reviews, while Rob and I averaged 3-4 films a day and stressed about prepping for interviews.
On this episode we talk about some of the highs and lows of Sundance and our varied perspectives on the best movies. There was certainly a wild mix of movies, from dudes with testicles flying off to 90's beastiality comedy (was that a thing?!). To be fair, there were some really great movies too that made us feel good about humanity warmed our hearts, but I guess I don't need to keep talking about Tim's #1 pick.
In Worth Mentioning we cover Cowboys and Earwig and the Witch.
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Eight for Silver made the Most Anticipated Movies of Sundance lists for both Rob AND Tim. Despite our often differing tastes, there are still through lines that connect us. For this film, “extreme violence and gore,” meets werewolves, was all they needed to know.
I’ll tell you my worry, for this Eight For Silver interview
For starters, Boyd Holbrook and Alistair Petrie. These two edgy bad-guys top my list of favorites. I loved Holbrook in Logan and Petrie in Rogue One, but with my penchant for revennge and holding grudges, I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet these two. Nevertheless, Rob reminded me that they are in fact “actors” and are probably lovely in real life and they were lovely, indeed.
We also had a chance to talk with the mind behind this wild horror-haunting-monster genre mash-up, Sean Ellis. I mean, the dude clearly has incredible talent, that is obvious even if you’re not a “extreme gore” fan. Metro Manila and Anthropoid were two of his more popular films.
Three interviews for the price of one
We met with Holbrook first and his mellow Kentuckian disposition, put us right at ease. He was funny and casual and as you probably can guess, my favorite parts of the conversation are when we deviate from talking about movies (ha!). So, in particular, I really in enjoyed talking about family and kids and juggling all of that, on top of a career.
Then on to Petrie, which is where things get a bit more intimidating. English people, right? There is just a shift is presence and polish that puts my insecurities on edge. I probably just didn't breathe for the first five minutes or so, as I tried to settle in to his sense of humor. Of course this always-villain was incredibly gregarious and warm, gosh, why would I ever have thought differently.
The conclusion of our interview is something best caught on video. All I'll say is that Rob's ZOOM dropped, immediately after he's caught Petrie off guard asking about his foundation Borne, which is something he is passionate about, given his personal experience with premature birth and miscarriage. My heart skipped 17 beats, as attempted to plug in and carry the conversation without any premeditated questions. I still haven't played it back to see the horror on my face, probably never will.
At long last, Sean Ellis. He came to us from his closet and admitted he hadn't brushed his hair. We commiserated, but truth be told, we don't usually brush our hair and still did for this interview. I hadn't heard of his name before Sundance this year. However, Ellis proactively offered that his preference is to not have his name known, so the film's success is marked by the story and its characters.
A mini snapshot of Eight For Silver, that it no way prepares you for what you're about to see
In the late nineteenth century, brutal land baron Seamus Laurent (Alistair Petrie) slaughters a Roma clan, unleashing a curse on his family and village. In the days that follow, the townspeople are plagued by nightmares, Seamus’s son Edward (Max Mackintosh) goes missing, and a boy is found murdered. The locals suspect a wild animal, but visiting pathologist John McBride (Boyd Holbrook) warns of a more sinister presence lurking in the woods.
It's pretty grim and it's definitely filled with more than one cringe-worthy jump scare, but it's also incredibly beautiful and provides an interesting commentary on some of the social issues of the time. And, if you're like Rob and Tim, it's pretty extreme and violent and gory and you'll probably love it.
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While the experience of the students at Lowell High School is many standard deviations from my own, its exploration is an empathy trip, nevertheless. The college application process has become increasingly rigorous and the competition for top tier schools is tight. The teens in Try Harder! have centered their entire high school experience around joining the “right” clubs, making the “correct” connections and constantly seeking perfection in the name of “Stanford”. Granted, Lowell kids aren’t your average students, but their plight is shared by so many teens today.
Try Harder! reminds us how relieved we are that high school is over
Filmmaker Debbie Lum, takes us on a eye-opening anxiety ride (I do mean that kindly) that follows 5 students with very different familial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Beyond that, the film explores the realities of racial bias and its role in educational opportunities. For a moment, we get a peek into these teens lives and boy, it's stressful.
Catching up with filmmaker Debbie Lum
I had mentally prepared for Rob to unknowingly alienate me from the conversation as he and Lum exchanged “Thurston Howell” chuckles about the good-old-days of being in advanced high school programs. To be clear, this premonition didn’t come from a place of insecurity, but rather born of Try Harder!’s connectedness to “nerd culture” in high performing schools.
But I was wrong (you can blame that on my 23 I got on the ACT). Lum’s intimate portrait of high school’s many intense pressures was really just the work of an experienced filmmaker. In fact, her experience was much like mine. Sorry Rob.
We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did - you can check out Try Harder! when it releases on February 12, 2021.
Catch our video interview with Debbie Lum!
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From sleeping amongst the wildlife to building set pieces from scratch, Robin Wright went all in on Land
Robin Wright hasn't done many interviews on her new film Land. We know, because we googled like crazy to capture a glimpse of her, in an effort to baseline our conversational expectations. So why us, we thought? We're not professional interviewers, by any stretch, and we're not exactly People magazine. The truth is, our chat with Wright about her directorial debut, Land, will forever remain one of those magical mysteries that make life wild and unpredictable.
Leading up to the interview we joked a lot about how we could infuse questions about The Princess Bride and House of Cards, but all the sarcasm flew out the door 15 minutes leading up to our interview. My left arm pit was sweating like crazy, my right eye was rapidly twitching and Rob had started doing the thing he does where he talks more intensely and asks me lots of questions, which only makes my arm pit sweat more.
Then, there she was. Gosh darnit, we thought we were prepared, but if she wasn't even more lovely than we could have ever imagined. To tell you that all of my anxiety melted away would be mostly true, but I'm also not sure I could have told you exactly what we talked about more than 10 seconds after our conversation ended, either.
The conversation flowed easily with Wright's careful and measured responses. We had to literally bite our lower lips to not jump in during the small gaps of silence.
Wright shares her perspective on the timeliness of Land and the urgency of its message. She also shares candidly, "I wanted to do this movie in particular because it came to me during the time when the world and America was experiencing the random shootings that were going on, almost bi-weekly and I'm just thinking about the level of grief these poor people are experiencing and how do you get through that?"
I've gotten ahead of myself a bit, so let me tell you a bit about Land
When Edee’s (Robin Wright) life is tragically altered (it's really bad), she loses the ability to connect with the world and people she once knew. She retreats to a forest in the Rocky Mountains with a few supplies and leaves her old life behind indefinitely. The beauty of her new surroundings is undeniable yet quickly humbling as she struggles to adjust and prepare for the winter ahead. When Edee is caught on the brink of death, a local hunter (Demián Bichir) and his family miraculously save her, but she alone must find a way to live again.
The film has other layers too. It's about resilience and hope and perseverance, but Land doesn't suggest that these things can or should be solved alone. Rather, we need the help of others, with community and friendship, being at the core of our wellness.
The secret to why Land will be successful for Robin Wright
Connection and community, indeed. Wright was quick to elevate the work of her fellow castmates and crew. From the team who erected the dilapidated cabin to her literal hero in the movie (Demián Bichir). Wright reminds us that being genuine and having compassion, really matters. With a director and a cast who lives those values, it makes it a whole lot easier for us to believe it on the screen.
PS. If you're like us and you had no idea that Robin runs a jammie company, you should definitely check out Pour Les Femmes.
Video coverage of the interview with Robin Wright!
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The Alternate Ending gang is going to the Sundance Film Festival! Or, anyway, the Sundance Film Festival is coming to us: due to the ongoing public health crisis, the 2021 edition of the fest is going to be conducted entirely online from January 28-February 3, meaning that we don't even have to brave the snowy mountains of Utah to get a peek at the wide world of indie films. We can do it right from the equally snow fields of Wisconsin. But at least we don't have to deal with mountains! Um...
Either way, we have a wide assortment of 72 films to pick from, and we're going to spend our next episode getting ready for the festival by discussing some of the movies we're most excited to see, from new works by major directors to exciting debuts, from gritty documentaries to feverish genre films. Our Sundance 2021 preview will also give us a chance to compare notes on the best way to tackle a film festival in strange times like these. Check out the Sundance schedule!
In Worth Mentioning, we cover Monty Python's Life of Brian thanks to Patreon, Jack Chivers and The Father.
Rob:
5. John in the Hole
4. CODA
3. Eight For Silver
2. Land
1. Judas and the Black Messiah
Carrie:
5. Searchers
4. Passing
3. Together Together
2. At The Ready
1. CODA
Tim:
5. Eight For Silver
4. Judas and the Black Messiah
3. In The Earth
2. President
1. Prisoners of the Ghostland
So we've reached the end of another very normal year, full of very normal movies, and there's only one thing to do: painstakingly sort through all the many, many films available to us, to select our top ten best movies of 2020. Join us as we share notes on our many adventures with streaming, our very few (and genuinely nerve-wracking experiences with post-pandemic movie theaters, and all the time we've had to catch up on great movies from years past. Reliving the last 12 months might sound like the worst decision you could possibly make right now, but with Rob, Carrie, and Tim by your side, we promise it will be... probably still pretty horrible, but at least with dick jokes!
Rob:
10. The Climb
9. The Painter and the Thief
8. Boys State
7. Sound of Metal
6. The Invisible Man
5. The Nest
4. Let Him Go
3. Love and Monsters
2. Palm Springs
1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
Carrie:
10. Run
9. Happiest Season
8. The Trial of the Chicago 7
7. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
6. Spontaneous
5. Love and Monsters
4. My Octopus Teacher
3. Promising Young Woman
2. Sound of Metal
1. Soul
Tim:
10. Corpus Christi
9. Bacurau
8. Emma.
7. Tenet
6. City Hall
5. Zombi Child
4. The Wild Goose Lake
3. Ride Your Wave
2. First Cow
1. Wolfwalkers