Self-taught writer-director Richard Linklater was among the most successful talents to emerge from the new wave of independent American filmmakers in the 1990s. Typically setting each of his movies during one 24-hour time period – and with non-formulaic narratives about seemingly random occurrences – Linklater’s work explored what he dubbed “the youth rebellion continuum.” In the early 1990s, his debut feature Slacker was hailed as something of a manifesto for Generation X, and ever since, the filmmaker has earned a loyal fan-base world wide with such hits as Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise. As big fans of the filmmaker, the Sound On Sight staff decided to vote on our ten favourite films from the director.
Note: There was two ties.
****
10: Suburbia
Originally a play by performance-artist Eric Bogosian (who also wrote the script), Suburbia is a character driven mood piece, which delves into the hearts and minds of a group of young adults.
Note: There was two ties.
****
10: Suburbia
Originally a play by performance-artist Eric Bogosian (who also wrote the script), Suburbia is a character driven mood piece, which delves into the hearts and minds of a group of young adults.
- 6/18/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Given that he's one of the more diverse and prolific filmmakers out there, it's been a disappointingly long four years without a new movie from Richard Linklater ("Me and Orson Welles" premiered at Tiff in 2008). Fortunately, the Austin, Texas-based filmmaker is back with "Bernie," a dark comedy which reunites him with two of his most memorable leads, Jack Black and Matthew McConaughey, that has picked up strong reviews and, opening in limited release last Friday, has been performing surprisingly well at the box office.
With "Bernie" expanding wider this weekend (read our review), it seemed like the perfect time to look over Linklater's diverse and eclectic career. He'd already made his mark by founding the Austin Film Society in 1985 (which has gone on to be the center of the industy in the Texas city), but since his debut with an ultra-low-budget student film in 1988, Linklater's tackled everything from romance to...
With "Bernie" expanding wider this weekend (read our review), it seemed like the perfect time to look over Linklater's diverse and eclectic career. He'd already made his mark by founding the Austin Film Society in 1985 (which has gone on to be the center of the industy in the Texas city), but since his debut with an ultra-low-budget student film in 1988, Linklater's tackled everything from romance to...
- 5/2/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Barely four days have gone by and he hasn't been in a relationship. He's tall and quiet, courteous and self-deprecating, a "writer of classifieds" in Toronto. Alas, he doesn't have his dog anymore. Mogley ended up with his ex. Now he's back in the dating world with a hungry heart and an eye for a gal who'd call her pet pooch Peanut.
That's just what happens in "Dog Park" when Luke Wilson ("Bottle Rocket", "Blue Streak") meets Natasha Henstridge ("Species") at a bar and they hit it off, sort of. She's a jaded TV actress with a children's show and thinks he's some kind of jerk. It takes a while, but they are undoubtedly made for each other, just as the movie clearly is not made with much of an audience in mind.
A New Line release written and directed by Bruce McCulloch of "The Kids in the Hall" fame -- he also plays a relatively subdued supporting character -- "Dog Park" is fitfully amusing and occasionally sharp-witted, but there's no consistency to the humor or level of execution. Kathleen Robertson ("Splendor") is a twittering neurotic as Wilson's ex, who in a case of unnecessarily withheld information has taken up with Henstridge's ex (Gordon Currie).
The one halfway amusing running joke involves the agreed-upon joint custody of Mogley and how the dog may or may not be disturbed by witnessing scenes of vigorous sex -- an even more likely occurrence when health nut Kristin Lehman reels Wilson in after he fails to link up with his heart's desire, Henstridge. Offering him advice is co-worker Janeane Garofalo (in light-comedy mode), who is married to McCulloch's character.
Offering Henstridge tips and "dating chain" theories is Amie Carey, who also figures in the overuse of kismet that if not halted would have linked up everyone in the cast. While some sequences have a wicked sense of humor and there are shots from the dog's point of view and other funky visual flourishes, many of the gags are flat. The human performances vary from barely in control to all over the highway, but the four-legged cast members are unanimously impressive.
Giving up, starting over, getting laid and, in theory at least, growing up. If only this scatterbrained movie lived up to its own prescription. Even Wilson and Henstridge seem to be on different wavelengths, with her butch looks definitely not contributing to the flickering chemistry.
Harland Williams shows up long enough to get a few laughs as a freaky date for Henstridge, and Mark McKinney is quite funny as a kooky dog psychologist who can't handle human problems.
DOG PARK
New Line Cinema and Independent Pictures
in association with Lions Gate Films
An Accent Entertainment production
Credits: Writer-director: Bruce McCulloch; Producer: Susan Cavan; Executive producer: Jeff Sackman; Director of photography: David Makin; Production designer: Marian Wihak; Editor: Christopher Cooper; Costumes: Linda Muir; Music: Craig Northey. Cast: Lorna: Natasha Henstridge; Andy: Luke Wilson; Cheryl: Kathleen Robertson; Jeri: Janeane Garofalo; Jeff: Bruce McCulloch; Keiran: Kristin Lehman; Rachel: Amie Carey; Trevor: Gordon Currie; Callum: Harland Williams; Dog psychologist: Mark McKinney. MPAA rating: R. Color/stereo. Running time -- 90 minutes.
That's just what happens in "Dog Park" when Luke Wilson ("Bottle Rocket", "Blue Streak") meets Natasha Henstridge ("Species") at a bar and they hit it off, sort of. She's a jaded TV actress with a children's show and thinks he's some kind of jerk. It takes a while, but they are undoubtedly made for each other, just as the movie clearly is not made with much of an audience in mind.
A New Line release written and directed by Bruce McCulloch of "The Kids in the Hall" fame -- he also plays a relatively subdued supporting character -- "Dog Park" is fitfully amusing and occasionally sharp-witted, but there's no consistency to the humor or level of execution. Kathleen Robertson ("Splendor") is a twittering neurotic as Wilson's ex, who in a case of unnecessarily withheld information has taken up with Henstridge's ex (Gordon Currie).
The one halfway amusing running joke involves the agreed-upon joint custody of Mogley and how the dog may or may not be disturbed by witnessing scenes of vigorous sex -- an even more likely occurrence when health nut Kristin Lehman reels Wilson in after he fails to link up with his heart's desire, Henstridge. Offering him advice is co-worker Janeane Garofalo (in light-comedy mode), who is married to McCulloch's character.
Offering Henstridge tips and "dating chain" theories is Amie Carey, who also figures in the overuse of kismet that if not halted would have linked up everyone in the cast. While some sequences have a wicked sense of humor and there are shots from the dog's point of view and other funky visual flourishes, many of the gags are flat. The human performances vary from barely in control to all over the highway, but the four-legged cast members are unanimously impressive.
Giving up, starting over, getting laid and, in theory at least, growing up. If only this scatterbrained movie lived up to its own prescription. Even Wilson and Henstridge seem to be on different wavelengths, with her butch looks definitely not contributing to the flickering chemistry.
Harland Williams shows up long enough to get a few laughs as a freaky date for Henstridge, and Mark McKinney is quite funny as a kooky dog psychologist who can't handle human problems.
DOG PARK
New Line Cinema and Independent Pictures
in association with Lions Gate Films
An Accent Entertainment production
Credits: Writer-director: Bruce McCulloch; Producer: Susan Cavan; Executive producer: Jeff Sackman; Director of photography: David Makin; Production designer: Marian Wihak; Editor: Christopher Cooper; Costumes: Linda Muir; Music: Craig Northey. Cast: Lorna: Natasha Henstridge; Andy: Luke Wilson; Cheryl: Kathleen Robertson; Jeri: Janeane Garofalo; Jeff: Bruce McCulloch; Keiran: Kristin Lehman; Rachel: Amie Carey; Trevor: Gordon Currie; Callum: Harland Williams; Dog psychologist: Mark McKinney. MPAA rating: R. Color/stereo. Running time -- 90 minutes.
- 9/28/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK - Eric Bogosian's play depicting the malaise of the younger generation, a hit for Lincoln Center a couple of years back, has been adapted for the screen with felicitous results by director Richard Linklater, who has demonstrated his affinity for these types of characters with such films as "Slacker" and "Dazed and Confused".
Although the downbeat nature of the story and the lack of sympathetic characters may prevent the film from taking off commercially, strong reviews and word-of-mouth should garner it significant attention. Showing at the New York Film Festival, this Castle Rock production is scheduled for a commercial release early next year via Sony Pictures Classics.
The film, which adheres closely to the original play, is concerned with a group of aimless, overgrown adolescents who congregate in the parking lot of a convenience store in the middle of a suburban wasteland. After the canny credit sequence, which shows us a series of barren strip malls while the song "A Town Without Pity" plays on the soundtrack, we are introduced to Tim (Nicky Katt), whose stint in the Air Force has left him directionless and an embittered racist; Buff (Steve Zahn), a spaced-out prankster; Jeff (Giovanni Ribisi), whose intellectual searching and ironic put-downs seem to indicate he is the character closest to the author; Sooze (Amie Carey), Jeff's restless girlfriend, who is desperate to escape to New York and become a performance artist; and Bee-Bee (Dina Spybey), a young, troubled girl who is eager to blend in with the rest of the group.
Watching these young people listen to music, drink beer, litter, and generally make nuisances of themselves are the Pakistani owners of the store, Nazeer (Ajay Naidu) and his wife, Pakeesa (Samia Shoaib). Although they don't want trouble, the pair are not reluctant to whip out a gun when things get out of hand.
The group's lethargy is shaken up with the return visit of hometown boy Pony (Jayce Bartok), who has gone off and become a rock star, complete with MTV videos, a limousine, a sold-out show at the local arena, and a sexy publicist (Parker Posey). His appearance prompts the members of the group into various reactions: Jeff is jealous of his fame and masks it with snide put-downs; Sooze is attracted by Pony's success as an artist; and Buff mainly wants a ride in the limo.
One of the problems with "subUrbia" is that nearly all of the characters onscreen are either silly or unpleasant in varying degrees. Nazeer exclaims at one particularly frustrated point, "You people are so stupid. What's wrong with you?"
Although Bogosian's screenplay makes many cogent points about the deadening effects of suburbia, he provides no answers to that question, and the story wanders on aimlessly for nearly two hours, with a somewhat melodramatic conclusion. Still, there are many laughs, and the characterizations are fully developed and compelling.
Under Linklater's astute direction, the talented young cast play their parts expertly, with Zahn proving that his scene-stealing in "That Thing You Do!" was no fluke. He seems headed for big things. And Katt has sufficient charisma to make his obnoxious character somewhat bearable.
Header: Thu, Oct 10, 1996, 10, End of Header.
subUrbia
Sony Pictures Classics
A Castle Rock production
Director Richard Linklater
Producer Anne Walker-McBay
Executive producer John Sloss
Screenplay Eric Bogosian
Photography Lee Daniel
Editor Sandra Adair
Color/stereo
Cast:
Pony Jayce Bartok
Sooze Amie Carey
Tim Nicky Katt
Nazeer Ajay Naidu
Erica Parker Posey
Jeff Giovanni Ribisi
Pakeesa Samia Shoaib
Bee-Bee Dina Spybey
Buff Steve Zahn
Running time - 118 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Although the downbeat nature of the story and the lack of sympathetic characters may prevent the film from taking off commercially, strong reviews and word-of-mouth should garner it significant attention. Showing at the New York Film Festival, this Castle Rock production is scheduled for a commercial release early next year via Sony Pictures Classics.
The film, which adheres closely to the original play, is concerned with a group of aimless, overgrown adolescents who congregate in the parking lot of a convenience store in the middle of a suburban wasteland. After the canny credit sequence, which shows us a series of barren strip malls while the song "A Town Without Pity" plays on the soundtrack, we are introduced to Tim (Nicky Katt), whose stint in the Air Force has left him directionless and an embittered racist; Buff (Steve Zahn), a spaced-out prankster; Jeff (Giovanni Ribisi), whose intellectual searching and ironic put-downs seem to indicate he is the character closest to the author; Sooze (Amie Carey), Jeff's restless girlfriend, who is desperate to escape to New York and become a performance artist; and Bee-Bee (Dina Spybey), a young, troubled girl who is eager to blend in with the rest of the group.
Watching these young people listen to music, drink beer, litter, and generally make nuisances of themselves are the Pakistani owners of the store, Nazeer (Ajay Naidu) and his wife, Pakeesa (Samia Shoaib). Although they don't want trouble, the pair are not reluctant to whip out a gun when things get out of hand.
The group's lethargy is shaken up with the return visit of hometown boy Pony (Jayce Bartok), who has gone off and become a rock star, complete with MTV videos, a limousine, a sold-out show at the local arena, and a sexy publicist (Parker Posey). His appearance prompts the members of the group into various reactions: Jeff is jealous of his fame and masks it with snide put-downs; Sooze is attracted by Pony's success as an artist; and Buff mainly wants a ride in the limo.
One of the problems with "subUrbia" is that nearly all of the characters onscreen are either silly or unpleasant in varying degrees. Nazeer exclaims at one particularly frustrated point, "You people are so stupid. What's wrong with you?"
Although Bogosian's screenplay makes many cogent points about the deadening effects of suburbia, he provides no answers to that question, and the story wanders on aimlessly for nearly two hours, with a somewhat melodramatic conclusion. Still, there are many laughs, and the characterizations are fully developed and compelling.
Under Linklater's astute direction, the talented young cast play their parts expertly, with Zahn proving that his scene-stealing in "That Thing You Do!" was no fluke. He seems headed for big things. And Katt has sufficient charisma to make his obnoxious character somewhat bearable.
Header: Thu, Oct 10, 1996, 10, End of Header.
subUrbia
Sony Pictures Classics
A Castle Rock production
Director Richard Linklater
Producer Anne Walker-McBay
Executive producer John Sloss
Screenplay Eric Bogosian
Photography Lee Daniel
Editor Sandra Adair
Color/stereo
Cast:
Pony Jayce Bartok
Sooze Amie Carey
Tim Nicky Katt
Nazeer Ajay Naidu
Erica Parker Posey
Jeff Giovanni Ribisi
Pakeesa Samia Shoaib
Bee-Bee Dina Spybey
Buff Steve Zahn
Running time - 118 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/10/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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