Don’t Miss Out! Don’t Knock the Rock Fest Returns, Plus LA’s Hottest Films This Week!

Howdy! I’m Mark Olsen. I’m here to guide you through a landscape filled with nothing but excellent films.

Joshua Rothkopf and Matt Brennan are currently in France for the Cannes Film Festival. Even in its early stages, it promises to be an exhilarating affair.

The prequel to 2016’s “Mad Max: Fury Road”, George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” features Anya Taylor-Joy in a more youthful portrayal of the character that Charlize Theron made famous.

According to Rothkopf, “For the first time in Miller’s five-movie franchise, the immediacy that has been a constant throughout appears to be lacking. Any prequel would necessarily require some distance: This is what transpired before the story you’re familiar with. If you mistaken Charlize Theron’s hollow gaze in “Fury Road” for an absence of backstory (that’s actually her performance you’re observing), “Furiosa” is here to provide that context in an entertaining way. However, with every intensely blue sky, russet desert scene, and faux-literary chapter title (“2. Lessons from the Wasteland”), the film moves farther away from feeling like a current story and closer to a tale that’s been told, polished and beautified.”

The following day saw the premiere of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” a project the acclaimed director financed by selling a portion of his winery business. The film, which tells the story of a crumbling empire that Coppola has wanted to narrate for four decades, boasts a star-studded cast including Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Shia LeBeouf, Chloe Finneman, Giancarlo Esposito and Nathalie Emmanuel.

Rothkopf wrote, “In a broader sense, Coppola has transitioned from the cynicism of his finest works like ‘The Conversation’ and ‘Apocalypse Now’ — power causing widespread corruption — to something that could be interpreted as utopian. I’m not sure if that’s what I desire from him as a creator, but his unwavering ambition is exhilarating. He isn’t concluding with something tame and well-groomed, but a dense, robust, seething narrative about the origins of fascism that only a harsh viewer would label a disaster. Instead, it feels like a metropolis. It may be the most radical film he’s ever made. He dedicates it to his late wife, who would have been delighted to see her husband still pursuing his craft 45 years later.”

Don’t Knock the Rock festival and its musical films

The Don’t Knock the Rock festival is back on Thursday with the Los Angeles premiere of “Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story.” The festival, which is curated by filmmaker Allison Anders and her daughter, music supervisor Tiffany Anders, is being held in collaboration with the American Cinematheque at the Los Feliz 3 for the first time and will run until May 27.

The music-focused festival was first organized by the mother-daughter pair in 2003 and has been on break since 2016. When they decided to resurrect it, they hesitated to approach the American Cinematheque due to concerns that the organization might consider their event too minor.

“We wondered, are they too big for us? Will they accept us?” Tiffany Anders queried during a Zoom conversation earlier this week.

“We were definitely modest, because we’re a small festival,” Allison Anders expressed in the same discussion. “We are just two people. It’s her and me. A mother-daughter business. Also, we are very fan-oriented. We certainly want premieres, Los Angeles premieres, whenever possible, but we’re not all about that. It’s more like: Will people who enjoy the Don’t Knock the Rock atmosphere show up for this? There might be a documentary about a relatively unknown person, but if we know how to reach that audience, we’ll do it. And usually, we’re part of that audience too.”

Directed by Andrew Reich, “Born Innocent” highlights the dynamic chemistry between brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald, establishing their band Redd Kross as a crucial inspiration for four decades of rock in Los Angeles. Despite a teenage abduction, substance abuse, and the fluctuating fortunes of the music industry, the brothers maintain their passion for music and their bond with each other, presenting an unexpectedly inspiring narrative.

Other local premieres include Julia Greenberg and Dianna Dilworth’s “Dory Previn: On My Way to Where” and Isaac Gale and Ryan Olson’s “Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted.” Ondi Timoner’s “Dig XX,” an extended 20th anniversary of her documentary on the tangled friendship and rivalry between two bands will also make its Los Angeles debut.

In addition to documentaries, the festival will also screen a couple of narrative features, including Susan Seidelman’s “Smithereens” and “Desperately Seeking Susan.” Allan Arkush’s “Get Crazy,” Fred F. Sears “Don’t Knock the Rock” and Juleen Compton’s revived “The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean” will also be shown.

Other documentaries screening include Ava DuVernay’s “This Is the Life” and Ethan Coen’s “Jerry Lee Lewis — Trouble in Mind.”

This year, the festival also features a streaming component on the Cineville platform, presenting films from this year’s festival and previous editions. The platform will be available from May 23 to July 31, and access costs just $10.

Allison Anders had just completed a Q&A with director Susan Seidelman that will accompany “Desperately Seeking Susan” and remarked, “It was crazy because when I was conversing with her, I realized she’s probably the filmmaker I relate to the most. We both have the same approach to working with musicians and actors. She was voicing thoughts that I’ve repeatedly expressed.”

Anders continued, “There’s something about having a musician act in a film, they bring a persona that you can work with and perhaps help them let go of some of it. Just rewatching ‘Desperately Seeking Susan,’ watching Madonna just strolling, just lounging by the jukebox while ‘Into the Groove’ is playing and her getting on the dance floor dancing to that — it’s pure bliss for me.”

Tiffany Anders stated, “A musician’s journey is sure to be filled with many challenges, regardless of who they are. They go through a lot and their stories are great tales of persistence. Observing an artist’s life is unlike anything else. It can be motivating and insane, so witnessing that only adds to the awesomeness of listening to the records you love.”

35mm arrives at Vidiots

Vidiots opened in Eagle Rock nearly a year ago with the goal of eventually starting to project 35mm films. This weekend, “Stand and Deliver” will be the first film shown in 35mm at the venue, with star Edward James Olmos present.

Vidiots features both a video store and a theater, and the decision to begin projecting films further underscores the organization’s dedication to physical media. As Amanda Salazar, the director of programming, explained in a call this week, “It’s a wonderful opportunity to introduce films to certain audiences for the first time. We have a lot of family-oriented programming and our hope is to include some 35mm screenings in our all-ages programming, enabling us to discuss this and engage with kids about the history of celluloid and identifying some aspects within it while they’re viewing it.

“Our long-term goal is to ensure that films are viewed and remain accessible to the public,” Salazar added. “And 35mm is sometimes the only way a film can be viewed. It might be the best format to view that version of a film.”

However, unlike the Vista Theater and the New Beverly Cinema (both owned by Quentin Tarantino) which are committed to exclusively screening films on film, Vidiots will continue to diversify their projection formats.

“We’re not really planning to start showing everything in 35mm, it’s not our objective,” said Salazar. “If there is a new 4K restoration of a film, we will definitely show that version if it makes sense.

“We are linked with many other venues,” Salazar continued. “It doesn’t feel like Vidiots needs to step in and become this 35mm hub. We are fortunate to live in a city that’s so devoted to the art form in all its formats. In terms of programming, what’s most exciting is focusing on and being motivated to present work that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to show.”

The only other 35mm presentation currently announced for Vidiots is Mitchell Lichtenstein’s 2008 film “Teeth,” starring Jess Weixler, on May 31. Salazar said that more 35mm screenings will be included in the Vidiots June schedule, with a few special events to celebrate the venue’s first anniversary.

Other highlights

Elaine May’s ‘The Heartbreak Kid’

Due to a peculiar rights dilemma that has made the film owned by the pharmaceutical company Bristol-Meyers Squibb difficult to view, Elaine May’s brilliant 1972 comedy “The Heartbreak Kid” will be playing this weekend at Alamo Drafthouse locations nationwide, including Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Purchell, a film historian and programmer, purchased a 16mm print of “The Heartbreak Kid” previously used for television broadcasts for about $55 on eBay a few years ago. Purchell was able to make a 2K scan of that print and made color adjustments and improved the soundtrack. Purchell’s friend, Drafthouse programmer Jake Isgar, was then able to arrange screenings for the film.

Purchell, who we spoke with this week, noted how distribution shapes canons: Critics, programmers, and audiences can’t advocate for films that they can’t view. Purchell pointed to films like Barbara Loden’s “Wanda” or Toshio Matsumoto’s “Funeral Parade of Roses” as films that have gained in importance as they have become more widely accessible. Elaine May’s reputation as a filmmaker has increased in recent years as her work has become more widely distributed.

“My philosophy has always been something like a ‘Field of Dreams,’ if you present it, people will show up,” Purchell commented, speaking from New York City. “People are eager to see stuff, they want to discover things, they want to find their new favorite movie.”

In the movie, directed by May from a screenplay by Neil Simon based a story by Bruce Jay Friedman, Charles Grodin plays Lenny Cantrow, a sporting-goods salesman who after a brief courtship marries Lila Kolodny, played by May’s daughter Jeannie Berlin. The couple head to Miami Beach for their honeymoon, where Lenny meets the enchanting Kelly (Cybill Shepherd) and decides to leave Lila after just five days of marriage. As he struggles to make his new relationship work, Lenny eventually comes to the realization that the person he may have the most trouble with is himself.

In a 1972 profile in The Times, referring to Grodin as Chuck, Gregg Kilday noted, “The reality of ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ is such that audiences have a hard time distinguishing the actors from the characters they portray. Grodin reports that the situation got so bad in New York’s Sutton Theater where the film is now showing — with angry boos and hisses greeting Lenny’s decision to leave Lila — that one night Elaine May brought Chuck and Jeannie to a screening just to show the audience the two were still on friendly terms.”

During the interview in a suite at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Grodin sipped a double martini and noted of his then-burgeoning movie career, “I went out in Westwood last night. I looked at this first-run theater and there I was. But you don’t feel anything. Nothing. Relief, that’s all. Relief that you’re not dead, that it didn’t kill you. Joy is hard to come by.”

The indie-rock ’90s of ‘Half-Cocked’

The recent passing of recording engineer and musician Steve Albini has brought the indie-rock music scene of the ’90s back into the spotlight, making it the perfect time to revisit a film rooted in that environment. On Tuesday, Mezzanine will have a 30th anniversary screening of 1994’s “Half-Cocked,” directed and edited by Suki Hawley, who co-wrote the film with partner Michael Galinsky. (The filmmakers will be present at Tuesday’s screening.)

Filmed on black-and-white 16mm by Galinsky, the film captures the adventures of a band on tour, as well as the unique blend of creativity, boredom, resilience, and idealism that accompanies the indie, on-the-road ethos.

Featuring figures from the Louisville, Ky., music scene, the film follows a group of friends who steal the van, along with all the musical gear inside. They spontaneously declare themselves a band to scrape up some cash and before long, they start to get somewhat into it and possibly even get better.

The film reaches a sort of spiritual apex when the band finds itself opening for Memphis’ the Grifters, who offer them some insight on why it’s all worth it.

The film’s soundtrack includes the bands Polvo, Helium, Slant 6, Rodan and many more bands from that very specific moment of ragged guitar rock.

Gasoline Rainbow

One of my favorite films of the year so far is “Gasoline Rainbow,” directed by brothers Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross. They have continued the trajectory they began with their 2020 film “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” by creating something of a fictionalized documentary, in which the performers, more or less playing themselves, are placed into situations just to see what happens.

Five teenagers in Inland Oregon set out in a borrowed van for the coast in search of a mythical party. Their road trip soon becomes far more complicated as their friendship is tested as they meet all manner of fellow travelers along the way. The film becomes a moving (in multiple sense of the word) portrait of a generation in transition, as carefree youth gives way to an uncertain future of grown-up responsibilities.

The Ross brothers will be at the Nuart on Friday night for a Q&A.

Other news

A celebration of Indian film music at the Academy

On Saturday night, the Academy Museum will present a program celebrating the music of Indian cinema, focusing on 2022’s “RRR,” 2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire” and 2001’s “Lagan.”

The talk will be followed by a live tabla and dance performance reinterpreting the music of all three films.

On Sunday, “RRR” will screen in 4K at the David Geffen Theater. Anyone who has yet to experience the miraculous “Naatu Naatu” musical number in a theater would be well-advised to attend.

Alejandro Jodorowsky in L.A.

This weekend, the American Cinematheque will be screening four films by Alejandro Jodorowsky at the Egyptian Theatre with the filmmaker in attendance. The opportunity to see these films, including the milestone works “The Holy Mountain” and “El Topo,” in a theater like the Egyptian is very exciting. Though all four shows are already sold out, there will be standby lines.

Carlos Aguilar spoke to the Chilean-born Jodorowsky, 95, in a recent video call from the filmmaker’s home in Paris. A conversation with the director can become as twisting and brain-expanding as one of his psychedelic-tinged films. A simple question about Los Angeles leads to him saying, “Should I answer in an educated manner or should I answer in my own way?”

Encouraged to speak his mind, Jodorowsky continued, “I don’t want to say, ‘Los Angeles is so wonderful.’ I can’t tell you if I like it. It depends on the spiritual, intellectual, emotional, sexual, physical state I am in at that moment. I will answer when I get there.”