- In this hilarious, critically acclaimed arcade showdown, a humble novice goes head-to-head against the reigning Donkey Kong champ in a confrontation that rocks the gaming world to its processors! For over 20 years, Billy Mitchell has owned the throne of the Donkey Kong world. No one could beat his top score until now. Newcomer Steve Wiebe claims to have beaten the unbeatable, but Mitchell isn't re
The strange, disturbing scenes in Mark Borchardt's low-budget horror film Coven are nothing compared to his real life! This acclaimed documentary follows the efforts of this struggling Wisconsin filmmaker to complete his film, using the funds and labors of his friends and relatives. 1999/color/104 min/R.Struggling filmmaker Mark Borchardt is the subject of
American Movie, and he may also be the most determined man you'll ever meet. The straggly haired, fast-talking, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin! , native lists his greatest influences as
Dawn of the Dead,
Night of the Living Dead, and
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He began making horror movies as a gangly adolescent, and is now set on finishing
Coven (which he pronounces like "woven"), the "35-minute direct market thriller" he has worked on for two years. In the process, he steadfastly battles immense debt, the threat of losing his kids, and birds chirping gleefully through scenes set in the dead of winter. His mother would rather do her shopping than be an extra, his brother contends he's best suited for factory work, and his father just wants him to "watch the language."
Standing by him through it all is Mark's childhood buddy, Mike Schank, who is the strongest weapon against drug use a task force could ever hope for, and Uncle Bill, begrudging financier of Coven, who appears to be wasting away before our very eyes. In less perceptive hands these two could easily become caricat! ures--the burnt-out stoner and the crotchety old coot--but thr! ough dir ector Chris Smith's lens we see why Mark loves them, why they love Mark, and why each of these stories is uniquely compelling.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, the film has been compared to Spinal Tap and Waiting for Guffman--two unquestionably hilarious mock-documentaries--and, indeed, American Movie has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. But in the spoofs, we feel encouraged to point and giggle at the poor slobs trying to get a piece of the action. Smith, however, offers us a funny and overwhelmingly affectionate portrait; you may sit down expecting to laugh at Mark's pie-in-the-sky hopes, but you soon find yourself bursting with admiration. "The American dream stays with me each and every day," Mark says, and by the end, we want nothing more than for it to come true. (The DVD version includes the complete short film "Coven.") --Brangien Davis This limited edition, special collectors' DVD set celebrates 25 yea! rs of the Sundance Institute. It contains ten ground-breaking films that embody the sprit of independence, creative risk-taking, and diversity that define the Sundance Film Festival. Bonus materials include a booklet and an 11th disc with behind-the-scenes footage from the Sundance Institute Labs and never-before-seen interviews with filmmakers and founder Robert Redford.Struggling filmmaker Mark Borchardt is the subject of American Movie, and he may also be the most determined man you'll ever meet. The straggly haired, fast-talking, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, native lists his greatest influences as Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He began making horror movies as a gangly adolescent, and is now set on finishing Coven (which he pronounces like "woven"), the "35-minute direct market thriller" he has worked on for two years. In the process, he steadfastly battles immense debt, the threat of losing! his kids, and birds chirping gleefully through scenes set in ! the dead of winter. His mother would rather do her shopping than be an extra, his brother contends he's best suited for factory work, and his father just wants him to "watch the language."
Standing by him through it all is Mark's childhood buddy, Mike Schank, who is the strongest weapon against drug use a task force could ever hope for, and Uncle Bill, begrudging financier of Coven, who appears to be wasting away before our very eyes. In less perceptive hands these two could easily become caricatures--the burnt-out stoner and the crotchety old coot--but through director Chris Smith's lens we see why Mark loves them, why they love Mark, and why each of these stories is uniquely compelling.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, the film has been compared to Spinal Tap and Waiting for Guffman--two unquestionably hilarious mock-documentaries--and, indeed, American Movie has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. But in the spoofs! , we feel encouraged to point and giggle at the poor slobs trying to get a piece of the action. Smith, however, offers us a funny and overwhelmingly affectionate portrait; you may sit down expecting to laugh at Mark's pie-in-the-sky hopes, but you soon find yourself bursting with admiration. "The American dream stays with me each and every day," Mark says, and by the end, we want nothing more than for it to come true. (The DVD version includes the complete short film "Coven.") --Brangien DavisGet ready for "flat-out hilarious, raunchy fun" (Box Office Magazine) as the whole American Pie gang returns to East Great Falls for the first time since their legendary senior year to turn their reunion into the most unforgettable weekend since high school. Old friends will reconnect, old flames will reignite, and everyone will rediscover just how much fun you can pack into one outrageous reunion. Starring Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott and Eugene Levy, "the! gang is back and better than ever!" (Jake Hamilton, Fox-TV).B! ack in 1 999, the first American Pie hit on a winning formula for delivering raunch to the masses, buffering its grosser-than-gross moments with a disarmingly fresh-faced sweetness. The fourth theatrical installment in the series may have some trouble limboing under the bad-taste bar in this post-Jackass era, but the core decency remains. You'll likely smile more than gag this time around, but that's far from a bad thing. Set some 13 years after the original, the story finds the gang (Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas) all grown up and stuck in various ruts. Hoping to rekindle their hormonal spark, they meet up again for their high school reunion. No pastries may be defiled this time around, but please observe a moment of silence for a once-innocent ice chest. Directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, previously the masterminds behind the increasingly gonzo Harold & Kumar series, leave their surrealist tendencies at home, instea! d focusing on ways to give their newly mature cast room to stretch (particularly Alyson Hannigan, who knocks her blue material out of the park) and finally figuring out a way to get Christopher Guest veterans Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge to share a scene. MVP honors, however, still go to Seann William Scott, whose character's utter refusal to grow up has now taken on a strangely honorable quality, culminating in a hysterical finale that feels like a fitting close to the saga. The times may have changed, but Stifler, bless him, remains a force of nature. --Andrew WrightIn this hilarious, critically acclaimed arcade showdown, a humble novice goes head-to-head against the reigning Donkey Kong champ in a confrontation that rocks the gaming world to its processors! For over 20 years, Billy Mitchell has owned the throne of the Donkey Kong world. No one could beat his top score until now. Newcomer Steve Wiebe claims to have beaten the unbeatable, but Mitchell isn't rea! dy to renquish his crown without a fight. Go behind the barrel! s as the two battle it out in a vicious war to earn the title of the true King of Kong. The stuff of gladiatorial battle is here: good versus evil, right versus wrong, nerd versus... super-nerd? At any rate, it's a more entertaining showdown than most fictional movies can muster. The King of Kong is the saga of Steve Wiebe, a Redmond, Washington dweeb who sets a new record in the video game Donkey Kong, only to see his accomplishment challenged by the grand poobahs of the gaming establishment. And if you don't know how pernickety the grand poobahs of the gaming establishment can be, well, one of the pleasures of this movie is finding out about this collection of oddballs. It seems Wiebe has toppled a score that has stood since 1982, when eminent "Gamer of the Century" Billy Mitchell set it, and Mitchell isn't too happy about being overthrown. A black-mulleted showboat, Mitchell provides the perfect counterpoint to Wiebe's mild-mannered family man, and the smaller fish! around him are no less colorful. This is one of those movies you watch in delighted disbelief, marveling that such people exist--and that they gladly allowed themselves to be filmed. Director Seth Gordon does an important thing in presenting this world of eccentrics: he doesn't mock them, or provide editorial nudging; he simply lets them be. The result is an ingratiating classic. --Robert Horton
