2010 Sundance Film Festival

Around four years ago, Plexifilm, an independent DVD label and film production company, approached Animal Collective about producing a tour documentary. The band liked the idea of creating a film and immediately hired video artist Danny Perez (Black Dice, Kurt Vile, Blood on the Wall) for the job. Once the band hit the road with Perez, and after conceptualizing the project over numerous hours while driving in the van, the group concluded that they did not have anything new to contribute the “band documentary” genre. Instead, they countered Pexi with the fresh idea of making a visual album. The project was accepted and ODDSAC was on its way to being born. ODDSAC runs just under an hour at 53 minutes, a visual EP with 4-6 movements of music synched to complicated video edits. This is the type of film avante garde junkies and Animal Collective fans will want to watch over and over (sober and while on mind-altering substances) because each time, the viewer will find new dimensions unnoticed in the first screening. Some of the movements in ODDSAC are reminiscent of vintage 60s psychedelic art, using bright colors and white noise to interpret the music. The visual syncing with the soundtrack is spot-on and when seen on the big screen, this footage is hypnotic and trace inducing. Other visual movements in ODDSAC, incorporate Perez’s love for old horror movies (particularly the ending sequence) and was legitimately scary in some parts. There are also elements of humor, peppered cleverly throughout the scenes. Ultimately this film can be an intense, emotional experience for the audience, if the viewers let themselves become invested in it. ODDSAC’s combination of audio and visual layers transported me into a venerable place in my psyche that left me reeling over my experience with ODDSAC hours later. Just like previous Animal Collective efforts, I cannot wait to get my hands on this visual album so that I may enjoy it again and again. –Angela H. Brown http://www.slugmag.com/festival-coverage/642/ODDSAC-Review.html

For those of you familiar with the Chicago-based rock and Baroque pop outfit, Califone—chances are you have been waiting since 2007 to see this film. If you aren’t an indie music junkie but like artful films with fairytale elements, you’ll love this work just as much. All My Friends are Funeral Singers was written and directed by musician, Tim Rutili. His screenplay is lyrical, poetic and is ultimately about learning to let go. Rutili wrote the film to coincide with an exclusive soundtrack that is to be played live by his band, Califone. In fact the screening I attended in SLC was the first public screening of All My Friends are Funeral Singers without the band’s live accompaniment. While I enjoyed Rutili’s narrative storyline (especially the gypsy and ghost elements) as a Califone fan I couldn’t help but wonder how my cinematic experience would have been heightened with the bands’ live musical energy, playing in conjunction with the picture show. After all, this was the original way Rutili intended the film to be viewed. However, I do understand that in a film festival environment this isn’t possible for every single screening. Watch this movie either way, but peep their record labels’ site (deadoceans.com) first, to make sure they are gigging with the film. –Angela H. Brown http://www.slugmag.com/festival-coverage/641/All-My-Friends-Are-Funeral-Singers-Review.html

Over the past 40 years, Joan Rivers has overcome monumental obstacles and continues to lead the fight for female comedians worldwide, but, as is the reality of show business, no one stays on top forever. In this riveting one year peek into the private life of an actress/comedian/writer/mother/grandmother/friend, the audience is given the opportunity to witness Rivers’ vulnerability and constant fear of opening her schedule book and seeing nothing but a blank page. As the year progresses, the workaholic exposes her relentless desire for continued success as she tours with her self-scribed theatre production, appears on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice with her daughter,Melissa, and performs her stand-up routine in various clubs around the country, both seedy and reputable. Directors Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg tastefully infiltrate the disheartening and encouraging sides of Rivers’ past and project the talented artist as an inspirational yet levelheaded subject. At 75-years-old, the crass comic can still keep up with the rising comedians of today, and then some, but it’s her personal hardships, shrewd outlook on life and devote family relationships that make her standout amongst the crowd. - Jimmy Martin http://www.slugmag.com/festival-coverage/632/Joan-Rivers-A-Piece-of-Work-Review.html