Editorials – Page 7 – Ruby Hornet

Film still of Ryan Gosling in Lars and the Real Girl

[Netflix Pix] Lars and the Real Girl

I'm taking over Netflix Pix duties from Alex this week because I felt very, very strongly about one of this week's new additions. In a week that was highlighted with Mean Girls, Amores Perros, Terminator, and a plethora of other high-quality films, one stands out from the rest on a personal level. As always, Netflix Pix is Ruby Hornet's pick of the litter from that week's latest updates. With the Weekly Netflix Fix posting on Thursdays, Netflix Pix will be moved to Fridays to accommodate the new series of posts, plus it'll give all of you a chance to check out some of the new offerings before we tell you what to watch this upcoming weekend. As is standard, Netflix Pix are based on US listings only, and selections can vary due to regional availability.

This week's Netflix Pix and winner of the "Real Dolls Are More Than Just Sex Dolls, Guys" award is 2007's Lars and the Real Girl. Ryan Gosling stars as the eponymous Lars Lindstrom, a 27 year old introvert living in his parents' garage in which his older brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and Karin (Emily Mortimer) reside in. Gus and Lars didn't have the best childhood growing up, with their Mother dying during Lars' birth and their Father battling depression their entire lives because of the incident. All of Lars' internalized grief culminates in one serious delusion: falling in love with a Real Doll named Bianca he ordered online. In an attempt to help Lars' mental illness, the entire community plays along with the ruse, taking Bianca in as if she were one of their own.

For some reason, Lars and the Real Girl was marketed and advertised as a Comedy, but anybody that's watched the film can tell you there aren't many laughs to be found. Honestly, what's funny about a mental illness? Nevertheless, Gosling was nominated for a Golden Globe for "Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy" and a Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role" while the film itself was nominated for "Best Writing (Original Screenplay)" Oscar. It won't be for everyone, but it's an interesting take on the conventional Romance genre. Plus, if you're anything like me, it'll compel you to do more research on people who actually do fall in love with Real Dolls.

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by Geoff Henao

[SXSW] 10 Films You Should See at SXSW 2014

^{[Ruby Hornet will be covering SXSW from March 7th to March 16th. Follow along as we bring you exclusive film reviews, photos, daily features, and interviews with filmmakers, actors, and musicians!]}

With this year marking my third visit to the famed South by Southwest Festival, I've become a bit of a veteran when it comes to the film side of the festival. While Sundance and CIFF have their perks and vibes, but SXSW has always been consistent with their film selections. With such a large amount of films screening at SXSW this year, I figured I'd help guide you along in which films are sure to be festival favorites. While I'm only suggesting 10 films, any and all of you SXSW Film attendees should try to catch as many films as you can. Some of my best and favorite SXSW films in years past have been the ones I've caught on a whim, which serves as a testament to the amazing programming the SXSW people have shown throughout the years. Nevertheless, read on to find out which 10 films are my most anticipated of South by Southwest 2014.

by Geoff Henao

The 86th Academy Awards Winners Predictions

The early months of any year are full of awards and recognitions for all of those filmmakers who worked hard in the previous year to produce a form of entertainment that will have the capability to transcend the decades. While a variety of these award nights seem to take precedence throughout these first few weeks of the year, they all seem to merely be leading up to the largest of filmmaking honor ceremonies: The Academy Awards. The night on which the golden Oscar is distributed seems to always be the hype, and these smaller ceremonies just add to the predictions that film fanatics everywhere are making for the late winter celebration. 2013 brought a lot of excitement for filmgoers around the world, and this Sunday could be the test of whether a viewer's favorite film executed just the right amount of excellence for the Academy to spread cheer. So, without further blabber on my part, here is what I think will be receiving each honor this weekend.

by Mackenzie O'Brien

Film still from Shane Carruth's Upstream Color.

Top 10 Valentine's Day Films

February 14th: The worst day of the year for every single adult in America. Social networks are full of love doves, digital flowers and candies, and desperate song dedications to significant others (and/or unrequited loves). As you can tell, I'm not the biggest fan of Valentine's Day, whether I was single or taken. Nevertheless, it's hard to ignore what is arguably one of the largest Hallmark Holidays of the year. To commemorate the day full of chocolate hearts and over-priced dinners, Mackenzie O'Brien and I have teamed together to make a list of our Top 10 Valentine's Day Films.

However, I've included a twist to the tried-and-true formula. Whereas Mackenzie played the straight-and-narrow route with some legitimately romantic films, I've chosen some romantic films with some dark elements to them that may or may not have happy endings. Whether you're a hopeless romantic or romantically hopeless, check out Ruby Hornet's official list of Top 10 Valentine's Day Films. I can guarantee there'll be selections here to entice anybody.

by Geoff Henao

[Sundance] Sundance Film Festival 2014 Recap

^{[Ruby Hornet will be at Sundance Film Festival 2014 providing coverage of the festival's 30th year. Keep it tuned to Ruby Hornet this week as we share reviews, interviews, photos, and more at one of the country's largest film festivals.]}

We came. We saw. We conquered. Ruby Hornet's first trip to the Sundance Film Festival was... interesting, to say the least. After almost a decade of dreaming about attending the prestigious festival, I finally got my chance to have the Sundance experience. It wasn't everything I thought it would be, but for every misstep, there was a silver lining found in the assortment of films playing over the festival's duration. Considering the amount of films playing, with many of them having their world premieres at the festival, there was something to love for all film fanatics. With over a dozen of film reviews, a couple of interviews, and a slew of photos and other assorted shenanigans, I'd say Ruby Hornet had a solid maiden voyage to Park City, UT. In case you missed everything over the past couple of weeks, check out all of our Sundance-related coverage below.

REVIEWS

[Sundance Review] Camp X-Ray
[Sundance Review] Boyhood
[Sundance Review] God's Pocket
[Sundance Review] The Skeleton Twins
[Sundance Review] Cooties
[Sundance Review] The Raid 2: Berandal
[Sundance Review] To Kill a Man (Matar a un hombre)
[Sundance Review] Infinitely Polar Bear
[Sundance Review] Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
[Sundance Review] Wish I Was Here
[Sundance Review] Life After Beth
[Sundance Review] White Bird in a Blizzard
[Sundance Review] White Shadow

INTERVIEWS

[Sundance Interview] Gareth Evans (Director of The Raid 2: Berandal)
[Sundance Interview] Arifin Putra and Julie Estelle (The Raid 2: Berandal)

EVERYTHING ELSE

Tintype Photographs of Celebrities at Sundance
[Sundance Video] The Raid 2: Berandal Q&A, Iko Uwais pencak silat demonstration
Sundance Film Festival 2014 Award Winners
[RH Photos] Sundance Film Festival 2014

by Geoff Henao

Top 10 Films of 2013

2013 was an interesting year for me. In March, I attended my second SXSW for my old outlet, Flixist. With a running knowledge of how SXSW is organized and ran, I was able to take SXSW head-on with amazing coverage for some of the year's best festival films. It was at SXSW that I also met Virgil Solis, who after tricking him into thinking I'm an awesome guy, asked me to join the Ruby Hornet team to build the site's Film vertical. The rest is history.

Over the past year, I've seen a lot of great films at both SXSW and the Chicago International Film Festival, as well as the typical Hollywood blockbuster films that had their theatrical runs. I'll admit, I haven't seen every major film I wanted to in 2013, but that's what home media is for, right? After more than 50 films I've reviewed (and even more that I hadn't reviewed), I've compiled a list of my Top 10 Films of 2013. Everything from Hollywood blockbusters to film festival darlings to under-seen foreign films is included on here. Hopefully, you'll agree with some of my choices, disagree with them, and find yourself intrigued to check out the more underrated films on this list.

by Geoff Henao

[Sunday Coffee Sipper] Shia LaBeouf and the Art of Plagiarism

This past Monday, actor Shia LaBeouf released his directorial short film debut, HowardCantour.com. Starring Jim Gaffigan, Portia Doubleday, and Thomas Lennon, it was an honest look at the behind-the-scenes world of online film criticism. Everything from the hierarchy of outlets during press junkets to the moral and ethical dilemmas we face when reviewing films from our personal heroes was illuminated in the amazingly shot, at times somber short. However, just as I was finishing and scheduling the post around 5:30pm, it had mysteriously been taken down. Short of the Week, an online site that curates and premieres short films, never takes videos down unless something happened.

As it turned out, something did happen, and it has rippled across film circles all week. When HowardCantour.com premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, it was critically hailed, with LaBeouf's directing potential certainly looking promising. However, when the short debuted publicly, Badass Digest noted HowardCantour.com's almost text-for-text transcription of one of comic book artist Daniel Clowes' shorts, Justin M. Damiano. However, no proper accreditation was made towards Clowes' work. When questioned about the apparent plagiarism, Clowes himself told BuzzFeed:

“The first I ever heard of the film was this morning when someone sent me a link. I’ve never spoken to or met Mr. LaBeouf. I’ve never even seen one of his films that I can recall — and I was shocked, to say the least, when I saw that he took the script and even many of the visuals from a very personal story I did six or seven years ago and passed it off as his own work. I actually can’t imagine what was going through his mind.”

Now, this is where things take a surprising turn. Following an agonizing day of accusations, LaBeouf turned to Twitter to express his sincerest apologies and condolences... or did he?

Copying isn't particularly creative work. Being inspired by someone else's idea to produce something new and different IS creative work.

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

In my excitement and naiveté as an amateur filmmaker, I got lost in the creative process and neglected to follow proper accreditation

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

Im embarrassed that I failed to credit @danielclowes for his original graphic novella Justin M. Damiano, which served as my inspiration

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

I was truly moved by his piece of work & I knew that it would make a poignant & relevant short. I apologize to all who assumed I wrote it.

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

I deeply regret the manner in which these events have unfolded and want @danielclowes to know that I have a great respect for his work

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

I fucked up.

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

All well and good, right? As it turns out, the first half of his "apology" was actually appropriated from a Yahoo! Answers post made over four years ago. Subsequent "apologetic" tweets aped everything from Tiger Woods' apology over his sex scandal, Kanye West's Taylor Swift apology, and more. I won't put all of them here, but MTV has put together the relevant tweets for your convenience here. Further research has revealed that LaBeouf has been appropriating others' words for his comic books, as well.

Now then, exactly what is LaBeouf's play here? Is he simply exploring the art of plagiarism, pushing the boundaries of honest self-expression and re-appropriation of others' works and words, or is he just being a total dick and making light of these very serious offenses?

First and foremost, plagiarism is one of the worst offenses anybody could make, especially in the art world. I acknowledge how one can feel inspired to create something similar to an original piece, but to blatantly take a piece's word-for-word transcription and attempt to pass it off as your own is astoundingly wrong. There's a blurry line when it comes to adaptations, especially when taking one form of art and recreating it in another medium, but at least accrediting the original artist is common sense.

Secondly, LaBeouf's whole treatment of the situation is absurd. Early on, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. As one can easily tell from the multitude of LaBeouf-related posts I've written on Ruby Hornet (and elsewhere), I'm an honest fan of the actor. However, this whole episode has soured me on him and his artistic inclinations. If it turns out that his half-assed apologies are nothing more than some "performance piece," the public would become even more infuriated. Give an honest apology to your fans, to the cast and crew behind HowardCantour.com, to Clowes, and leave it at that. To create a spectacle over this is typical "artistic self-expression" bullshit.

We all re-tread, re-invent, appropriate, adapt, remember, and are inspired by others' works our entire lives. But to take somebody's own art and attempt it to pass off as your own, then cover up any sense of guilt with an obvious lack of validity is self-serving and nihilistic. There is no art in plagiarism, Shia, and the idea of even making an attempt to spin this episode as nothing more than a public performance piece is the very reason why you aren't an artist; you're just an actor forever playing these roles created by others who truly understand art. Art is the creative representation of our self-expression, and you have made it abundantly clear that you have nothing of your own to express.

by Geoff Henao

Top 10 Horror Films for Halloween

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought I'd share some of my top ten favorite horror films because, let's face it, horror movies are meant to be watched during Halloween. Now by no means is this a greatest of all times list, but I do feel the films included can be put in that category. Many have been replicated throughout the years and changed the way people view and make horror films. If I were doing a greatest films of all times list, I could be here all day and obviously would have included a lot more films. Nevertheless, here are my top ten favorite horror films for this Halloween.

When traveling on the road, the best thing to probably do is stick to the main roads and don’t take any short cuts. If you’ve seen this movie, you’ll know why I say this because you never know what’s lurking around. In the case of The Hills Have Eyes, a family runs into a tribe of savages that live in a desert wasteland who prey on innocent people that happen to come on their territory. This family attacks, rapes, and massacres most of the Carters, and there are a lot of scenes that will have you saying, “No way.” What I like about this film is that it walks a fine line between what is self defense and full-blown sadistic revenge. It’s a classic fight or flight scenario, and for the Carter family, we see how far they can be pushed until they fight back with such bloodlust they didn’t know existed inside them. We witness it throughout the film, but one scene that I remember is when Bobby Carter sets a booby trap to have a camper explode and seeing the excitement he had instead of the relief you would expect. You’re either going to love this it or hate it, but as a horror film, The Hills Have Eyes is a horror flick that you should see at least one time.

By the time A Nightmare on Elm Street came around, slasher films were a dime a dozen, and so were films about a bunch of teenagers who were stalked by a masked killer; everyone was regurgitating the same sequences and trying desperately to come up with new ways of killing someone on film. Then Wes Craven came along and gave us an evil killer that was not only a monster in life, but also in death. A Nightmare on Elm Street was a new take on slasher films and gave us a peek into another world and blurred the line between life and death. Freddy Krueger did not wear a mask like everybody else since his burned and scarred face was his mask. He did not use a knife or chainsaw to kill his victims. Instead, his fingers were his weapons that could shred through anything. What really set Freddy apart from other horror icons was that he came after you in your dreams. When he was alive, he was a real-life monster, but being murdered by Elm Street citizens made him vow to return from the dead to seek his revenge. This set up the whole tone for the film, and since he was killing in the dream world, it left a whole world of possibilities for scares. We see what he is capable of early on when Tina is brutally ripped apart and dragged along the ceiling of her bedroom while her boyfriend stands there in terror. These type of scenes leave us with a feeling that there’s no where to hide because we all have to sleep, and something that stuck with me growing up was the song that started off like this: “1,2 Freddy’s coming for you.”

From the people that brought you The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Toby Hooper) and E.T. (Steven Spielberg) comes the ghost story Poltergeist. While it was not the first of its kind by any means, it did take things to a whole new level. The setting for the film wasn’t in some isolated town or had a house that was located in the middle of the woods. Rather, it was set in a bright and sunny suburban community in Southern California where you wouldn’t expect a haunted house to be. It gave the film a very creepy feel because anyone’s home could be haunted and anyone’s family could be tormented by spirits that were not at rest. The film is unsettling, whether it’s Carol Anne speaking through the TV or the fact that the home was built over a burial ground, making you pray that your home isn’t located on top of someone’s grave. Some of the creepier moments involve a clown doll coming to life and a scene where a guy tears off his own face, creating images that are not easily forgotten. One character that you can’t forget is the medium, Zelda, who is brought in to help save Carol Anne. Even though she is there to help, there is something very eerie about her, and it’s this mystery that adds to the film. Poltergeist is one of those horror films you have to appreciate… including the curse surrounding the entire film.

This has to be one of my favorite horror films for many reasons, but the main reason is that when you don’t have a huge budget, you have to rely on your imagination. Some might say The Evil Dead is corny, but you have to understand that the film had a tiny budget, yet they created a classic that spawned many cabin in the woods films. The film centers around a group of friends who drive to a remote cabin for the weekend where they discover an ancient text, unleashing an evil force in the process. One by one, they become possessed, leaving only Ash to resorting to some very violent things to survive. There is a lot of gore that is meant to disgust you, but it’ll more than likely make you laugh because of how low budget it is. However, there is one scene in the film that I’m sure will have you talking that involves one of the female characters and a tree that comes to life. With all the blood, shotgun blasts, and evil, there is a bit of comedy to this film that wasn’t seen before in horror films.. The Evil Dead will make you both laugh and jump – a definitely classic horror film for the ages.

Rosemary’s Baby shows what isolation and paranoia can do to a person. Rosemary, an expectant mother, moves into a new apartment in New York, only to learn that the people closest to her and are not whey seem to be. For example, her loving husband, a struggling actor, is not the man she thought she married, and her sweet innocent neighbors are anything but. Is it all just paranoia? Is there something evil going on in Rosemary’s life? Is someone plotting to take her down? Little does she know that she moved into an apartment full of Satan worshippers as she starts to unravel the diabolical plot. As she learns more and more, you’re able to figure out what is really happening to Rosemary and her baby. Her loving husband let Satan have his way with her for a shot at movie stardom. The sweet couple next door only wants the baby so the Devil can return to the realm of the living. Once the truth is revealed you go, “What the fuck?!” and then it all begins to make sense.

You can’t talk about horror films and not mention Halloween, which gave us one of the most recognizable faces in horror. Michael Myers is now embedded in the culture – he is synonymous with Halloween, and his blank white mask has scared many since first hitting the screen. The film did not create the slasher genre, but it did inspire all the films that came after it that have tried to copy its formula of seeing what happens when a group of teenagers are stalked by a killer. This killer is made up of pure evil that just can’t seem to be stopped, no matter what you throw at him. The film starts off with young Michael murdering his family, and seeing him without his mask makes you realize that he’s not ordinary. You get a sense that even though Michael was so young, there was something dark inside of him, and as the film progresses after each kill, you see how dark his soul really is. The way he stalks his victims and how he moves in silence without ever saying a word really makes this film scary. It’s one thing to hear your killer coming and knowing what to expect, but it’s a totally different experience when you don’t even know he’s in the same room.

Before The Walking Dead and World War Z, there was Night of the Living Dead. It wasn’t the first time people saw zombies on film, but it set the standard for what we see now. If you are a fan of the zombie genre and haven’t seen this film, you are truly missing out, not only because it’s a great film, but for the social commentary that shows up throughout the film. At the heart of it is the theme of community and working together to accomplish anything, even surviving a zombie apocalypse. By today’s standards, Night of The Living Dead is pretty tame and doesn’t offer the gory scenes we’ve been accustomed to seeing in typical zombies films, but it still offers some chills. One of the more memorable scenes that really shows the creepiness of this film is when the sole child, Karen, is discovered in the basement devouring her father. The film is shot entirely in black and white, which I think makes the film feel older than it actually is. Night of the Living Dead taps into our human behavior by showing us that we could possibly be worse off than flesh-eating zombies.

Growing up, there was one thing I knew that I never wanted to happen, and that was getting lost in the back roads of Texas. That reason was because before I knew any better, I thought Leatherface and what happened in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was real. Before 1974, a film of this caliber was never seen before, and unlike its predecessors, it was packed with originality and pure intensity. Dubbed as a true story and based on actual events, you can say that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre changed the game for slasher films with its level of gore and pure psychological terror. First off, the character Leatherface literally wears the face of his victims, and wielding a chainsaw is just pure terror. Along with his family of cannibals, Leatherface wreaks terror throughout the film by torturing Sally and her friends in so many ways. Not only is she affected physically by the whole ordeal, but it’s how she’s psychologically eafected that really make this a truly scary film. Imagine seeing all your friends being killed one by one with no hope of ever escaping, and once you’re captured, you’re seated at the dinner table instead of being killed. The scene where Sally is tied up to a chair made up of human remains and forced to have dinner with a family of sadistic flesh-eating killers is true horror. This film is plain scary and a horror classic that gave birth to one of the genre’s most terrifying icons ever.

If you haven’t seen this film, you more than likely don’t enjoy horror films. If you don’t know what the hell The Shining is, you probably have been living under a rock. There are so many memorable quotes and unforgettable scenes that The Shining has invaded popular culture. Two images that I always remember are the blood-spilling elevators or seeing the ghostly little girl twins, because nothing is scarier to me than ghost kids. Jack Nicholson plays Jack Torrance, a struggling writer that takes a job at the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Mountains where the previous person holding his job went insane and murdered his entire family. However, this doesn’t stop Jack from moving into the hotel with his wife and son, Danny, who happens to have a special gift. The two soon start communicating with the inhabitants of the old haunted hotel, and things start to take a turn for the worst. Danny starts seeing visions that might be from the past or showing the unfolding events of the future. As for Jack, he begins to spiral into a complete psychological breakdown and ends up on a quest to murder his family. One thing’s for sure: after seeing this film, it’s probably best not to ever go into room 237 no matter what.

When it comes to horror films, The Exorcist takes the cake, and is the one film that has scared me the most. I’ve seen it on VHS when those were still around, and I had a chance to see it in theaters when it was re-released for a short period. It’s not a film that I watch regularly or even care to because it gives me the creeps. There are too many scenes that have literally scared the crap out of me or has had me yell out, “Holy shit” from my seat.Whether it’s Regan’s head spinning 360 degrees, when she crab walks down the stairs, or even just the evil in her eyes, this film is filled with so many haunting images. It’s more than just a film about good and evil as we see the devil trying to take an innocent girl’s soul; it’s a film about the battle with one’s self when the other characters are fighting their own demons in the form of questioning their faith. The film really brings faith into the forefront, and depending what you believe in, will either scare you or not. Unlike other characters in other films, we don’t ever actually see the villain’s face, but an innocent girl who is being controlled by something beyond belief. It’s the unknown that truly makes this one of the scariest horror films I’ve seen.

by Bobby Reys