The Optimistic Pessimist

The Optimistic Pessimist is a weekly blog by Jim Brunzell III about film in the Twin Cities and beyond.

Talking with Evan Glodell, creator of the remarkable "Bellflower"

By Jim Brunzell III, The Optimistic Pessimist

This January at the Sundance Film Festival, there were many high-profile screenings of films with big stars (Perfect Sense with Ewan McGregor; My Idiot Brother with Paul Rudd; The Details with Tobey Maguire; Margin Call with Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, and Jeremy Irons) and all these films found U.S. distribution after their screenings at Sundance. Over 30 films were picked up throughout the course of the festival—Take Shelter starring Michael Shannon was picked up sight unseen by Sony Pictures Classics, and the film has played at Cannes and will unspool at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival starting next Thursday—and toward the very end of the festival, Bellflower premiered in the NEXT section (a category for “films that stretch a low budget to create big art and creativity with limited resources that inspire”) and was bought by U.S. distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories. By the festival's end, Bellflower was one of the most talked about films by the festival’s end. Although I missed Bellflower at Sundance, I caught it at MSPIFF in April and have since seen it twice. Bellflower, opening this Friday at the Lagoon Cinema, is a real achievement in low-budget filmmaking, writing, cinematography, and sound design, considering the cost of the film was roughly $17,000.

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David Bowie's "The Man Who Fell to Earth" comes to the Lagoon Cinema in newly restored glory

By Jim Brunzell III, The Optimistic Pessimist

After writing in last week's post about the plethora of repertory films screening at the Trylon Microcinema, it was nice to see another "rep" film show up on the Twin Cities film schedule from British director Nicholas Roeg: his The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) will be getting its due for a week-long engagement starting this Friday at the Lagoon Cinema. What's special about this re-release, besides a new print coming to town for its 35th anniversary screening? The film has been restored to its original cut of 140 minutes, instead of the 118 minutes that was shown in the U.S. when it opened in 1976.

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The Optimistic Pessimist

Revivals galore this fall at the Trylon Microcinema

By Jim Brunzell III, The Optimistic Pessimist

Earlier this week, the Trylon Microcinema released their fall schedule, as did the Walker Art Center, and there are plenty of goodies for film aficionados to be joyous about.

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The Optimistic Pessimist

Miranda July talks about "The Future"

By Jim Brunzell III, The Optimistic Pessimist

After a six-year hiatus since directing a feature film, Miranda July—whose previous film, the brilliant Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)—returns with another idiosyncratic romantic drama, The Future. July again stars, writes, and directs.

The Future is another fantastical story in which fans of July’s other work (whether it be as a performance artist, author, or actress) will immediately recognize July’s signature trademarks; the film was much-discussed among audiences and journalists alike at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Incorporating many of the same themes as her previous film, July again finds quirks in human interactions including insecurities, another unstable young woman, blending pop music into scenes effortlessly (the use of “Master of None” by Beach House is outstanding), and magical moments depicting people searching for meaning in life.

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The Optimistic Pessimist

Netflix vs. Redbox vs. the library: What's a film lover's best bet?

By Jim Brunzell III, The Optimistic Pessimist

Having been a Netflix customer for almost ten years, I’ve enjoyed hundreds of DVDs starting out with their three-at-once rental plan, which was around $16 a month. Over the past couple of years, I’ve switched my plan a few times; once they started adding Blu-Ray discs into their catalog, I was all in. It seemed like a great plan to start renting as many Blu-Rays as I could (with an additional $2 fee added on for Blu-Ray access). It made renting some of the newer releases—without having to purchase them at retail stores for prices anywhere between $15-$30—much easier.

Four years ago, Netflix added another feature, an instant streaming service, offered for about a fourth of Netflix’s entire catalog, where anyone who owned an Xbox, a Blu-Ray player that had Wi-Fi capabilities connected to a high-def TV, or a computer, with adequate/good Internet service, could instantly watch a film or certain TV shows, whenever. When the instant streaming service popped up, I switched my plan again from three discs to one and started watching more stuff via instant stream. Well, my plan might be changing again in mid-September—or I may just cancel my Netflix subscription entirely.

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The Optimistic Pessimist
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