TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2015 // A FILM REVIEW OF "A FASTER HORSE"

BY W DEREK JORDEN

The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, runs April 15th-26th and features hundreds of features, documentaries, short films, and special events all throughout downtown New York City. The ArtsWire Weekly's three featured reviewers Mateo, Derek, & Chrisena are hitting the festival and bringing the reviews right to you! What you should see and what you should skip... 

As was stated in this cool new documentary directed by David Gelb, everyone has some kind of Mustang story, whether it's their uncle had one, or their dad, or their brother, or they went to prom in one, or bought it as their first car after saving money delivering newspapers every morning from the age of twelve to sixteen. Or, if you are Mustang Chief Engineer Dave Pericak, proposed to your now wife while kneeling down next to the passenger door of an early 90's 'stang. The Ford Mustang is an American icon and has played a part in many lives, and many movies, since it's debut over fifty years ago.

A Faster Horse tells the story of the 50th Anniversary Mustang, from conception to production and everywhere in between. We get a real insider's look into what all goes on in the process of bringing that idea to physical fruition, a process that's endlessly complicated when you are talking about a machine comprised of about 30,000 parts, especially when the machine has such an emotionally-tied history to it. In America, the joys that come with driving and the freedom it represents, a far-reaching. Of course there are some that see driving as a strictly utilitarian task to get from Point A to Point B, but there's also people with a passion for driving and that freedom. And Ford didn't want to let these folks down!

In A Faster Horse, we learn there have been 6 redesigns of the Mustang since it came onto the scene in the mid-60's. This redesign had the most riding on it. The country was in a terrible recession, and Detroit became the first major city to declare bankruptcy. Luckily there were some passionate people, like Pericak (a central figure of this film) saddled up ready to make this car great. He said a good leader lets his staff know they can go way out on the limb of creativity, even onto the thinnest of branches, and that the leader will be there to catch them if the branch breaks. That confidence sparks a sort of creative freedom that ingenuity and innovation are bred upon. Isn't that beautiful?!

Another cool idea that came from this film that's translatable to whatever your thing in life is came up in the argument that, look, there's 60 million cars made every year, of probably more than 1,000 varieties, so what's the big deal about this one? Why get your panties in a bunch? It's just a car! The answer is: 'cause dammit, this is the car I'm working on! Take pride in what you do, and do it well. Much of the content of this movie fell back on that tenet, and it's safe to say, so did the movie itself. 

VERDICT: SEE IT

DIRECTED BY David Gelb FEATURING Dave Pericak, Lee Iacocca, Henry Ford II, and more.

Playing as part of The 2015 Tribeca International Film Festival. For tickets & schedules: http://www.tribecafilm.com

W. DEREK JORDEN is an actor currently living and working in New York City. He and his wife live on a Spaceship on the top of a building, which makes for some interesting dinner parties.

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2015 // A FILM REVIEW OF "HYENA"

BY W DEREK JORDEN

It's fascinating to think about the real life and mental process of a corrupt cop. Sworn to protect and serve, yet drawn to the power and money that accompany the darker side, at what point is a cop's justification of doing a little wrong for the ultimate greater good crossing the line? It seems Det. Alonzo Harris (Training Day) crossed the line while Det. Rust Cohle (True Detective) did not, but it's not always black and white.

The squad that opens HYENA, a new feature from Director Gerard Johnson, has quite clearly crossed the line. Well, the squad does, but does their leader? Led by Det. Michael Logan (Peter Ferdinando), this rough and tumble bunch enjoys the spoils of their crime busts, but after a new gang comes into town and an internal investigation begins, Logan is forced to fight his way out of the corner. Johnson takes us on an interesting route through some seedy parts of London, adding to the grime with the incessant debauchery. Pints of beer, shots of whiskey, pills of many colors, loud parties, playing pool and stumbling home. Oh, and lines of blow. Lines and lines of blow. Blow is a main character. In the end credits, just under "Det. Michael Logan...played by...Peter Ferdinando" is listed "Blow...played by...Herself." Well, it doesn't say that, but it could and wouldn't be lying. There is lots of snorting in Hyena and we get the hint that Detective Logan has a drug problem on top of his corruption problem. Under Blow in the end credits is Blood. This movie has quite a bit of it. Murder by stabbing, dismemberment by saw, spraying blood, scrubbing blood, and more.

Stephen Graham's familiar face (Snatch) plays the internal investigator and adds to the high stakes Logan is facing. The side story around Ariana (Elisa Lasowski) is disgusting then touching, and Lasowski does a great job with that tough role. There's a good, creepy, tension-filled soundtrack by The The from Britain that helps keep our interest piqued.

Coke and blood and bullets, some tenuous relationships that require some figuring out, and a few solid performances, but is that enough to send you chasing Hyena?

VERDICT: ON THE FENCE

Written and Directed by Gerard Johnson Starring Peter Ferdinando, Neil Maskell, Richard Dormer, Elisa Lasowki, MyAnna Buring, and Stephen Graham

 Playing as part of The 2015 Tribeca International Film Festival. For tickets & schedules: http://www.tribecafilm.com

W. DEREK JORDEN is an actor currently living and working in New York City. He and his wife live on a Spaceship on the top of a building, which makes for some interesting dinner parties.

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2015 // A FILM REVIEW OF "VERY SEMI-SERIOUS"

BY CHRISENA RICCI

The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, runs April 15th-26th and features hundreds of features, documentaries, short films, and special events all throughout downtown New York City. The ArtsWire Weekly's three featured reviewers Mateo, Derek, & Chrisena are hitting the festival and bringing the reviews right to you! What you should see and what you should skip...The New Yorker has had comical cartoons appearing in it since the 1930’s. The idea has always been the same, choose jokes that happen quickly, clearly and cleverly. The cartoons that have appeared in the New Yorker for all of these years really is a sort of time capsule to see how our society has changed and what we have gone through.

VERY SEMI-SERIOUS, explores this history, but also delves into how the cartoons get selected and what the process is. Interviews are held between previously published cartoonists and up and comers, as well as the editor and cartoon assistants. Interspersed between these short quirky interviews are some of the best cartoons each artist has sold, or hasn’t been able to sell. Bob Mankoff may be the focus of the film, but it moves quickly from person to person, brilliantly illustrating the world of the New Yorker.

Mankoff sifts through hundreds of cartoons each day, and on Tuesdays has open appointments fr cartoonists to come and share their work. To do this job, he must move quickly, and decide even quicker which jokes work and which do not. The film matches Mankoff’s editing pace, by zipping from one cartoonist to the next, telling short anecdotes and tiny slivers of these artists’ lives and asking some interesting questions. What are their motivations? Where do they come from? Where are they going?

The best part of the film is that it never loses its dryly comedic and quirky voice, but covers some serious material. We revisit the only cartoon that was published in the first New Yorker edition after 9/11. We are welcomed to see the edge of grief that Mankoff and his wife live on after the loss of their son. These are glimpses that keep the film honest, but are dealt in moderation so as to keep the piece upbeat and fast paced. This is a Must See for anyone who likes Farside comics, New York, or art in general.

VERDICT: MUST SEE

DIRECTED BY Leah Wolchok  CINEMATOGRAPHY BY Kirsten Johnson

Playing as part of The 2015 Tribeca International Film Festival. For tickets & schedules: http://www.tribecafilm.com

CHRISENA RICCI once went to a costume party dressed in an all black dress and black wig. No one there could guess who she was. So she shouted out, "I'm Christina Ricci, without the T or I and add an E!" Everyone stood there confused, she was annoyed, so she stormed off. She never returned to that apartment ever again. Which is fine, because she later realized she was at the wrong party. She now lives in New York City.