Telluride, 9/2.

Is everyone at Telluride going to have a Werner Herzog story? Let's hope so. At As Little as Possible, JJ's got one, plus a first impression of Encounters at the End of the World, "a gorgeous hodgepodge.... This is like every Herzog film rolled into one. It is about the universe perceiving itself through our inquisitive eyes and minds. It is about man's absurd quests, about our small and tenuous existence in the expanse of time, about the intense and forbidding and intoxicating beauty of the surroundings we are systematically studying and/or destroying. It is also a more convincing account of the seriousness of climate change than anything Al Gore or Leonardo DiCaprio has conjured."

More from Mike Jones at Variety's Circuit: "Ken Burns introduced Werner Herzog as the only filmmaker in the Guinness Book of World Records who has shot a film on every continent, Antarctica being the last."

Via Jeffrey Wells, Entertainment Weekly's Chris Willman comments on I'm Not There: "At least it's more coherent and commercial than Dylan's own 2003 writing and starring effort, Masked and Anonymous. But maybe not a lot more." And There Will Be Blood, "hardly recognizable as [a [Paul Thomas] Anderson film, from the looks of things, not being an ensemble piece, for starters. Yet to to the extent that his pictures tend to focus on weird extended families in general and father/child relationships in particular, it's easy to see Blood as part of an Anderson throughline." More on the There and Blood presentations from Mike Jones.

"In I'm Not There - with access to anything that Dylan said, sang or wrote - Haynes has actually created multiple movies, each distinctly designed and shot, and then woven them into a two-hour and 15 minute film that is even greater than the sum of its parts," writes indieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez, who's taken terrific notes on Todd Haynes's comments in a Q&A with Greil Marcus.

Also, The Band's Visit: "Made amidst the current cultural and political stalemate between Israel and Egpyt, the story takes on greater meaning in its depiction of band members bonding with local residents in the small town. Asked during a Q&A session about the recent wave of strong Israeli cinema, the film's producer Eilon Rachkovsky noted that filmmakers back home seem mostly done 'dealing with political issues all the time.' But, politely interrupting his colleague, director Eran Kolirian clarified, 'I have to disagree, this is a political movie.'"

Jason Reitman's Juno "is hilarious and poignant; a girl's view of high school and family and relationships that hasn't been seen since Ghost World," writes Mike Jones, and "the raunch-factor is right in line with Superbad through refreshingly from the other gender."

And Kim Voynar, in a full-blown review at Cinematical, finds it "utterly charming in every possible way, and is getting the most positive buzz I've heard about any film so far at the fest. [Ellen] Page stars as Juno, a smart, quirky, 16-year-old girl who, after a sexual encounter with her best friend, Bleeker (Michael Cera), finds herself pregnant. Right from the start, we know this isn't going to be your average 'after-school-special' film about a teenager getting knocked up and facing Big Decisions."

"Reserved, careful and largely predictable," is the way Variety's Todd McCarthy describes Alison Eastwood's directorial debut, Rails & Ties. "In almost every respect, Micky Levy's original script resembles a story that feels more rooted in the 1950s than today, especially as it regards several of the characters' deep-rooted love of trains, both real and model.... Eastwood fille does a crisp, efficient job of setting the wheels in motion."

Spout's Paul attends a screening of People on Sunday accompanied by a live orchestra and finds it "a celebration of leisure and the little moments that make life worth living (like an 88 year old version of Aaron Katz's Quiet City Kevin reviewed in FilmCouch #35). I also have to share People contains the most seductive first kiss I've ever seen on film. No joke."

Online listening tips. At the SpoutBlog, Kevin Buist talks with Kevin McDonald about My Enemy's Enemy and Paul talks with Jason Reitman about Juno.

Posted by dwhudson at September 2, 2007 1:14 PM