Hesher - Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman

[WyldeMan45]

This movie sounds fantastic! As everybody knows I'm a huge JGL fan and have been looking forward to this movie, but after reading Quint's review i am beyond pumped up now! Since this is a little known movie at Sundance, I just wanted to get the word out so as more people will become aware of this project. Anyways here is what Quint had to say, but heads up cause there are some spoilers ahead...............


Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with another review before I hit the sack. It was a 6 movie and 1 interview day for me and tomorrow promises at least 4 movies and 3 interviews, so forgive my exhaustion showing through as I’m sure it will.

I flat out loved HESHER. Yes, you can pick at the movie a bit… the biggest sin is a lull between acts 2 and 3 that lasts about 10 minutes, but for tone and sheer ballsy entertainment this one is going to be hard to top during my Park City adventure.

If I had to classify Hesher into one category I’d fail miserably. It’s a comedy first and foremost and a dark one at that, but there’s also a heavy dramatic and tragic element that plays a large part in the plot and character work.

Director Spencer Susser revels in casting against type. Here you have a movie where Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a hilarious anarchist badass you don’t **** with, Rainn Wilson is a deeply depressed father who is ignoring his remaining family after the loss of his wife, Natalie Portman is the homely, down on her luck check out girl and Carrie’s Mom (Piper Laurie) is the sweet-natured, not at all creepy grandma.

And it all works, which is the great success of the movie and the reason why it immediately struck a positive chord with me.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on a helluva roll at the moment and he keeps that momentum going strongly with his title character, a heavy metal loving, pyromaniac destructor of any and everything that gets in his way. Hesher’s a man of few words. For example we’re introduced to his character as young Devin Brochu makes the horrible mistake of throwing a rock through a window of a build-in-progress house Hesher is squatting in.

In one shot the rock is thrown, window shatters and then Levitt just kind of materializes out of the dark doorway, striding casually, but with purpose, shirt off, home-made tattoos on full display, and he grabs this 12 year old kid by the throat and pulls him into the house. A security guard is attracted to the window shattering and appears. Levitt screams “You ****ed me!” at the kid, then calmly grabs a handful of dynamite, lights it and throws it out the window, slowly walking over to his shit as it blows up.

Then the dude just keeps popping up in young Brochu’s school (apparently selling drugs to the junior high schoolers in the boy’s bathroom), watching the kid get his ass kicked on a daily basis by the ginger bully.



Hesher then shows up inside the kid’s house, stripping to his tighty-whities and making himself at home. No one challenges him. One look at the guy and you know you don’t say shit to him.

In fact, at first I thought they were going the Drop Dead Fred route and making Hesher a figment of Devin Brochu’s imagination, allowing him to focus the rage of his loss and making him do tough things he wouldn’t think he could do. But then Rainn Wilson had to go see him and that blew my smart-ass prediction.

It’s such a fun and funny character to set a movie around that if that was all the movie had going for it I could easily recommend it. But no, there’s more! For this very special limited time offer you also get a compelling family drama as this particular unit is rocked by the recent auto-death of Brochu’s mother and Wilson’s wife.



Brochu, one of the good kid actors that knows the power of understatement, is coping in his own way… which is essentially being unwilling to let go any physical piece of his connection to his mother, including the wrecked car that has been impounded… while his father copes by medicating himself into a dull neutrality and sleeping his life away.

The only one trying to cope by bringing the family together is Piper Laurie’s Grandma character, but she’s old and a little on the loopy side herself.

As you can imagine Hesher’s appearance throws a monkey wrench into everything, sometimes making certain problems worse, sometimes making them better. In a very weird way Hesher bonds with TJ (Brochu), helping him pursue his first crush, a mousy version of the radiant Ms. Natalie Portman.

“Mousy!?! How dare you, sir!” I can hear you say. Yes, she can look mousy and yes, some of it is just throwing big glasses on her, but most of it is in her mismatched wardrobe and the way she carries herself. Life has taken a particular joy in shitting on Nicole’s life not in a tragic movie backstory way, but in a “I’m working a real job… shitty, but real and I’m having to sell shit to pay my rent” regular working class way.



There’s an odd assortment of characters all played extremely well. You’d expect Portman and Gordon-Levitt to be on their game even if playing different types, but the real surprise to me was Rainn Wilson. His grieving husband character isn’t as flashy as Hesher and doesn’t have the same amount of time devoted to him as Brochu’s character, but the biggest compliment I can give him is I didn’t see Dwight at all… until he shaves his beard, but that’s a given. Thinking back I can’t remember one single joke or gag he has. All his character’s humor is in reaction shots.

The flick’s a hard R, with some of the foulest of foul shit constantly spewing out of Hesher’s mouth… the kind of witty/dirty mixture that is guaranteed to be quoted in film lover circles and dorm rooms across the country upon release.

As far as I know Hesher doesn’t have a US distributor yet, but it will. And if whoever picks it up does a good enough job marketing this flick they could have another indie sensation, something off-kilter, but hilarious and memorable… the kind of movies studios hunt for at fests like this.

Quint's Review

[casablanca3]

This should definitely be really good! Love Portman and Levitt. Also very excited for Cyrus and The Runaways to name a couple more Sundance films

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by casablanca3

This should definitely be really good! Love Portman and Levitt. Also very excited for Cyrus and The Runaways to name a couple more Sundance films

Haven't yet heard anything on Cyrus, but I've been following the Runaways since before it was even cast. I'm hoping that turns out to be a good film. Sundance always manages to showcase atleast 1 brilliant film every year at the bare minimum. I wonder how long before I get to see Hesher though..............

[Lepidopterous]

Thanks OP, I haven't heard of this one before. Looks like an intriguing character study, although the review is a bit confusing. I hope it gets a wide release. I absolutely adore Natalie Portman. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an outstanding young actor.

[KilloWertz]

If it gets enough attention at Sundance, I don't think finding a distributor will be much of a problem. I'm hoping The Runaways turns out to be good too.

[casablanca3]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

Haven't yet heard anything on Cyrus, but I've been following the Runaways since before it was even cast. I'm hoping that turns out to be a good film. Sundance always manages to showcase atleast 1 brilliant film every year at the bare minimum. I wonder how long before I get to see Hesher though..............

Here is the trailer for Cyrus:

New Trailer for CYRUS Starring John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill, and Catherine Keener

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by casablanca3

Here is the trailer for Cyrus:

New Trailer for CYRUS Starring John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill, and Catherine Keener

Just watched the trailer, I wasn't sure If I was supposed to laugh or be creeped out. Jonah could either be harmless or a psychotic who will stab Chest Rockwell to death, lol. I will definitely check it out, but based on that trailer I have no idea what to even expect.

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by killowertz

If it gets enough attention at Sundance, I don't think finding a distributor will be much of a problem. I'm hoping The Runaways turns out to be good too.

Looks like The Runaways isn't Kristen Stewart's only Sundance entry this year:

Welcome to the Rileys

Trauma transforms us. Years after their teenage daughter’s death, Lois and Doug Riley, an upstanding Indiana couple, are frozen by estranging grief. She isolates herself in their immaculate suburban home. He philanders with a local waitress, anesthetizing pain with easy passion. When he loses his mistress to cancer, Doug, beset by further heartache, escapes to New Orleans on a business trip. Compelled by urgencies he doesn’t understand, he insinuates himself into the life of an underage hooker, becoming her platonic guardian. Meanwhile, Lois summons all of her remaining force to overcome agoraphobia and venture south to reclaim her marriage.

Exacting performances from three consummate actors (James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo, and Kristen Stewart) infuse this emotionally raw, gently humorous drama with penetrating humanity. Director Jake Scott’s uncompromising film refuses to flinch from difficult moments or tie neat bows around its characters. Instead, it reveals how taking risks and leaving our comfort zone can become a profound path to healing the human heart.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

Looks like The Runaways isn't Kristen Stewart's only Sundance entry this year:

Welcome to the Rileys

Trauma transforms us. Years after their teenage daughter’s death, Lois and Doug Riley, an upstanding Indiana couple, are frozen by estranging grief. She isolates herself in their immaculate suburban home. He philanders with a local waitress, anesthetizing pain with easy passion. When he loses his mistress to cancer, Doug, beset by further heartache, escapes to New Orleans on a business trip. Compelled by urgencies he doesn’t understand, he insinuates himself into the life of an underage hooker, becoming her platonic guardian. Meanwhile, Lois summons all of her remaining force to overcome agoraphobia and venture south to reclaim her marriage.

Exacting performances from three consummate actors (James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo, and Kristen Stewart) infuse this emotionally raw, gently humorous drama with penetrating humanity. Director Jake Scott’s uncompromising film refuses to flinch from difficult moments or tie neat bows around its characters. Instead, it reveals how taking risks and leaving our comfort zone can become a profound path to healing the human heart.

How did you know the reason why I am interested in The Runaways is because of Kristen Stewart?

Anyways, I actually forgot about Welcome to the Rileys. Thanks for the reminder.

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by killowertz

How did you know the reason why I am interested in The Runaways is because of Kristen Stewart?

Anyways, I actually forgot about Welcome to the Rileys. Thanks for the reminder.

Because you did mention her by name lol. Anyways it's looking like there are going to be some awesome Sundance films to check out. I've got a list of about 10 that I've looked into. I would say that right after Hesher and The Runaways I am really stoked for Tucker & Dale vs Evil Big Tudyk fan myself. Hell at this rate we might as well make this the official Sundance discussion and awareness thread, lol.


“The hillbillies from the store captured Alison!”

Tucker and Dale, two hillbillies heading to their “fixer-upper” cabin for some relaxin’, discover they ain’t alone in them woods. They encounter an SUV full of vacationing college kids, and Dale unintentionally creeps them out. But later, as he and Tucker are fishing, Dale rescues one of them—the pretty blond Alison—after she falls into the lake. Assuming she’s been captured, the indomitably preppy college kids rally to find her.

A comically macabre battle between Izods and overalls, Eli Craig’s ingenious send-up of the horror genre recounts a simple misunderstanding gone grotesquely wrong. Our hillbilly psycho killers are actually sweet as pie; it’s the judgmental college kids who have “issues.”

Craig lovingly embraces clichés, dispensing humor and gore in equal parts as we watch the educated class blunder to its demise. Nature, beer, and a rising body count—what better way to spend Memorial Day?

[casablanca3]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

Just watched the trailer, I wasn't sure If I was supposed to laugh or be creeped out. Jonah could either be harmless or a psychotic who will stab Chest Rockwell to death, lol. I will definitely check it out, but based on that trailer I have no idea what to even expect.

Haha yeah exactly but either way I can't wait to see it!

Rileys sounds sweet. I love Sopranos so love JG and I am a big fan of Stewart outside of Twilight when she has real material to work with.

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by casablanca3

Haha yeah exactly but either way I can't wait to see it!

Rileys sounds sweet. I love Sopranos so love JG and I am a big fan of Stewart outside of Twilight when she has real material to work with.

Never bothered with Twilight movies, and probably never will. The only "real" movie i've ever seen her in was Adventureland, so I really have no idea about her abilities.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

Because you did mention her by name lol.

I've mentioned her by name plenty of times in other threads, but not in this thread until the post you quoted.

[casablanca3]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

Never bothered with Twilight movies, and probably never will. The only "real" movie i've ever seen her in was Adventureland, so I really have no idea about her abilities.

She was great in Adventureland for sure! I also thought she was terrific in Into The Wild but it was not a big part.

[Ator the Invincible]

Never heard of this one before, but it sounds right up my alley. Thanks, OP! I'll be checking it out when I can.

[SquidPuppet]

Thanks Wyldeman, I discovered a few titles to put in my Netflix Queue.

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Thanks Wyldeman, I discovered a few titles to put in my Netflix Queue.

That was my intention with this thread. Let people know about some films they might not have heard about otherwise. Sundance is always a fantastic film fest to track.

[WyldeMan45]

Well here is another Sundance headline, featuring Ryan Reynolds hot new property "Buried" -

Chris Bumbray has been out and about in Sundance checking out all the latest flicks for us and filing his reviews. We'll have his review of the Ryan Reynolds thriller BURIED soon but it became clear very early on at Sundance that this film would be one of the few that ignites a bidding war. And sure enough it did.

After its Saturday night premiere, Lionsgate, Fox Searchlight and Sony-based Screen Gems were all locked in an intense overnight battle for rights to the film. Once Searchlight pulled out, Lionsgate took it up a notch and was able to beat out Screen Gems for North American rights to the film just shy of $4 million. (While that may seem like a lot, it's actually down quite a bit from previous Sundance bidding wars. Focus paid $10 million for HAMLET 2, which flopped in theaters.)

If you haven't heard much about BURIED yet, it stars only Ryan Reynolds as a man buried alive inside a coffin. All he has at his disposal is a lighter and a cell phone and with that he must piece together how this happened and how he can get out. Is the claustrophobic flick an effective thriller or is Lionsgate putting all their hopes on the rising star of soon-to-be Green Lantern Ryan Reynolds? Stay tuned for the JoBlo.com review from Sundance!

JoBlo

[WyldeMan45]

Got another one up from Sundance folks. The always great Kevin Kline and the rising star Paul Dano



Few films I have noticed at Sundance have paid as much attention to script as this exquisite adaptation of Jonathan Ames’ novel "The Extra Man". The film’s central character is one Louis Ives, [a perfectly cast Paul Dano], a lonely dreamer who fancies himself the hero of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel while thinking about cross-dressing, an early experiment of which gets him fired from his college job.

He then heads to Manhattan to become a writer where he rents a room in the ramshackle apartment of Henry Harrison [Kevin Kline], a wildly eccentric, but brilliant, playwright who happens to be an 'extra man'—a kind of social escort for the wealthy widows of New York’s high society. The two form an unexpected bond that ultimately runs deeper than either one could imagine.

Those familiar with the writer of acerbic novelist Jonathan Ames will realise that his work is insightful, witty and full of rich, almost indefinable characters. Translating him for the screen is not easy but under the hands of the brilliant directing team Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who also worked on the script, this is one of those rare films in which characters are indelibly and deeply realised thanks to dialogue which brilliantly enhances character and mood.

This is a film that requires attention from its audience, to listen to the richness and wit of the dialogue that sparkles through the added interpretation of the film’s flawless cast. Kevin Kline works too rarely in film and seeing his bravura performance in this, one realizes what we miss. Here he is breathtakingly good, powerful, ferociously funny, and boisterous yet masking a quiet, sensitive vulnerability. He is acting at its purest, and he deserves every award possible for this masterful performance.

His younger co-star, Paul Dano, is also effortlessly great, reminding one of a young Gene Wilder. He beautifully, and with great comic subtlety, creates a fascinating, sometimes tragic figure trying to come to terms with his own identity. It’s a superb, beautifully controlled performance. As an odd down stairs neighbor with a high pitched voice, the wonderful John C. Reilly is extraordinary, injecting humour with a mere glance. It’s an ingenious and unforgettable turn from this wonderfully diverse actor.

Under the flawless direction of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who crafted the wonderful "American Splendor", "The Extra Man" is a magnificent, moving, hilarious and human work enhanced by a glorious score by Klaus Badelt and the gorgeous cinematography of Terry Stacey. "The Extra Man" shines with sharp wit and magnificent performances and one can only hope a wise distributor takes this on. Source

[WyldeMan45]

Sundance Review: "Welcome to the Rileys"

We all handle past tragedy in a number of ways. For the Rileys, not communicating is one such answer and a theme of Jake Scott’s beautifully executed "Welcome to the Rileys".

Years after their teenage daughter’s death, Lois and Doug Riley [James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo], an upstanding Indiana couple, are frozen by the continuation of their grief. She isolates herself in their suburban home, refusing to leave and symbolically, as it were, escape from her own inherent darkness.

Meanwhile Doug, a successful businessman, is cheating on Lois with a local waitress to ease his own pain. On a business trip to New Orleans, Doug imposes himself into the life of an underage hooker and stripper [Kristen Stewart] becoming her platonic guardian for reasons he doesn’t quite understand. Lois however summons all of her remaining force to overcome her agoraphobia and drive to New Orleans to reconnect with the husband she seems to be losing.

"Welcome to the Rileys" is a rather exquisite, poignant tale that explores loss in various incarnations and rediscovering what it is that makes us human. Director Jake Scott has crafted a work that is a deft character study, beautifully directed with grace and finesse. This is an often tragic tale told with a lack of sentiment, yet without avoiding its emotional centre. In so doing, he has elicited a trio of fine performances.

Gandolfini is perfectly cast as the conservative father who takes this teenage runaway under his wing, despite an attempt at a Southern accent that seems irrelevant. Melissa Leo is exquisite as the agoraphobic wife who must reconcile a past before facing a future. But the film belongs to Kristen Stewart, raw, uncompromising, magnificent at every turn, delivering a ferocious and emotionally-charged performance.

"Welcome to the Rileys" is a tough, challenging work, one that takes its time in exploring the fragility of human behaviour. It is a haunting, beautiful work with a masterful performance by Stewart at its heart. Source