In preparation for Ed Burns new indie film “Nice Guy Johnny” we are giving away some cool stuff (autographed script, poster, music)! Johnny Rizzo (Matt Bush) is a fledgling sports talk-radio host looking to make a higher-paying career change to appease his fiancée Claire (Anna Wood). Johnny heads home for the weekend to New York for a job interview set up by his future father-in-law and runs into his skirt chasing, bartender uncle Terry (Ed Burns). Terry makes it clear that he thinks Johnny is crazy for getting married and settling down at such a young age and decides a trip to the Hamptons for a freewheeling weekend is just what his nephew needs to put a little perspective on things.
“Nice Guy Johnny” is the latest of Burns trademark indie flicks but with a twitst…it’s opening in theaters, on iTunes, DVD and VOD all on October 26th. That’s right, all forms of media all on the same day! Talk about being resourceful and innovative. Ed has opted out of the big studio machine to try and reach his audiences in a more creative way. People like to view their entertainment in different ways, so why limit their options? While Burns isn’t the first to debut a film in more than one format at the same time, he is definitely one of the few. I think this is a great idea and hope that more filmmakers follow his lead!
Contest details below the jump.
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Local Baltimore Boy Jimmy Traynor is a machine. He’s a young director who manages to do a lot with very little. He’s the definition of an Independent Filmmaker who loves what he’s doing. He already has more than 10 movies to his name. His latest effort Live and Die was shot in 8 days using friend’s homes for locations. The movie was written, directed and has a cameo by Jimmy in it. The one thing that I’m noticing in his films is he knows Baltimore and really has the language and its people down.
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Anyone who has read my reviews over the years, knows that I’m a sucker for films about the creative process and precocious British kid films. Writer/Director Garth Jennings, whose last film was 2005′s “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” has crafted a small, indie film that – dare I say it? Should I say it? Why not? Is “This Year’s Juno.” It’s a smart, witty, inspiring little movie about a sheltered kid (think Amish) Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) who is introduced to movies in an over the top way. He accidentally watches a movie, not just any movie, Rambo: First Blood, and falls in love. He somehow manages to make friends with the neighborhood bully Lee Carter (Will Poulter) who is making a movie to enter into a BBC Talent competition. Proudfoot becomes obsessed with Rambo. Rambow works on several different levels, it’s a fun movie about the process of making a film.
It’s about trying to move outside of your boundaries (in this case Proudfoot’s strict religious upbringing) and how you can find friendship and brotherhood in the strangest of places. Jennings infuses this story with a thumping 80s soundtrack. The film’s two young leads successfully manage to carry the weight of this film on their shoulders. A lot of times when you have child stars in films like this, they always come across as older and more mature than they should be. But this time through Jennings strong writing and the performances, everything seems to just fit. Although this film is set in the 80s, it has a timeless feel to it. Jennings does a great job of showing us Will’s home life without bashing his religion. He clearly has a loving family that’s only trying to look out for him. The film doesn’t preach whether it’s wrong or right, it just is. If the first film that I ever saw was Rambo, my head would be turned to. While the two leads and the A story are strong, the film falters a bit when it Jennings becomes enamored of his french star Jules Sitruk who plays the too cool for the room french transfer student Didier Revol.
This is one of the year’s best films. Too bad it’s going to get crushed by Speed Racer, when it opens in limited release this weekend. I don’t know what Paramount Vantage is thinking opening this film in the busy May season.
Final Grade A
EM Review by
Michelle Alexandria
5.08.2008
Tags:
Indie Films,
Paramount Vantage
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