Author: Leo Sopicki

I focus my creative efforts on celebrating the American virtues of self-reliance, individual initiative, volunteerism, tolerance and a healthy suspicion of power and authority. I write about other subjects at my personal blog (http://leosopicki.com/). I also have a Martian friend who posts here: https://leoofmars.com/ .
Action Filmmaking

Adobe Does ‘Deadpool’ : And Remember Kids, Try This at Home

Leo SopickiComment(0)

Deadpool is not your father’s superhero movie, or, because of its R-rating, your kid’s either. Director Tim Miller was true to the comic book character, who has been rude-man-out in the Marvel Universe for 25 years. Miller was obviously going for shock and edginess and he succeeded. But one thing not obvious is how this tale was put together. Traditionally, major movies have been assembled on big, dedicated editing hardware and software costing as much as a Prius. Although Deadpool couldn’t have been put together on your father’s PC, it probably could on your kid’s.

Forsaken
Western

‘Forsaken’ – Kiefer and Donald Sutherland Co-star in Weighty Western

Leo SopickiComment(0)

Forsaken stars Kiefer and Donald Sutherland as father and son in a new Western drama. That’s the hook, but there is way more to this western than anyone would expect, although the director, writer and impressive supporting cast should give you a hint that this is an exceptional film. The story, on the surface, seems deceptively simple and one any fan of westerns has seen a dozen times. The railroad is coming and a corrupt business man is using a bunch of thugs to force farmers to sell their land to him. But to leave the description there would be like saying High Noon was about a town’s law enforcement human resources problems.
Classics Comedy

‘Chimes at Midnight,’ Orson Welles’ Best Work, Available for First Time in Decades

Leo SopickiComment(0)

I inherited a respect for Orson Welles and a love for his work from an uncle who came of age in the 1940s when Orson Welles was one of radio and cinema’s best known actor/directors. When ‘Chimes at Midnight’ came out, I was busy coming of age and rioting at UCLA. I heard about the film and that Welles considered it his best work, but I missed it. Then, like the mysterious Mr. Welles himself, it disappeared for decades. Now, it’s back.

Room
Drama Thriller

‘Room’ – Mothers, Children, and Abduction with Brie Larson, Joan Allen, and William H. Macy

Leo SopickiComment(0)

‘Room’ will both scare you and make you cry. It is the best movie I’ve seen this year. It is two movies in one. The first movie is a tense thriller about an abducted teenager, locked in a 10 by 10 sound-proof garden shed as a sex slave for seven years. She finally has an idea of how to escape with her five year old child. The second movie is a psychological study of the effects of abduction, rape, and social and sensory deprivation on its direct and indirect victims. Both stories will grab you.

Rififi
Classics

‘Rififi’ – Film-noir Heist Flick All Filmmakers and Everyone Else Should Watch

Leo SopickiComment(0)

(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) The 1955 film Rififi should be seen and studied by every screenwriter and filmmaker. It is a near-perfect example of a heist flick, and a master class in how to structure a story Hollywood style. Ironically, the movie was created by filmmaker Jules Dassin, a man exiled from Hollywood. The film has been remastered […]
Film Festival Filmmaking Interview

Anthem FilmFest: Top 10 Libertarian Films Rock with Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman

Leo SopickiComment(0)

“When I grow up, I want to be Dr. Manhattan,” was one of the responses Anthem Film Festival organizer Jo Ann Skousen received during the “Top 10 Films Every Libertarian Should Know” panel. Sometimes you get more than you ask for. After the audience joined the panel in suggesting films, well, there were a lot more than 10.
Action Drama Film Festival

Anthem FilmFest: Plato, Revolting, and Mendocino – All in a Cave

Leo SopickiComment(0)

Ancient Greek philosopher Plato put in a couple of appearances at the Anthem Film Festival in Las Vegas, July 8-11. Two of the short films showed influence, if not direct inspiration, by Plato’s tale of the cave, written 2,500 years ago. The films, ‘The Cage’ and ‘Helio’ both deserve praise for supporting the human quest for freedom and individualism. Cinematically, ‘Helio’ was a winner and ‘The Cage’ was not.
Comedy Film Festival

LA Film Fest: ‘Seoul Searching’ – an Homage to John Hughes and the 1980s

Leo SopickiComment(0)

The LA Film Festival chose to make ‘Seoul Searching’ one of its Gala Presentations. After the red carpet arrivals, the film was introduced by its director-screenwriter Benson Lee, and had its LA debut in Regal Cinemas’ Premier House. The entire event and the film itself gave that evening at the festival an old-time Hollywood feel. ‘Seoul Searching’ takes viewers on a nostalgia trip. Its theme, its style and its presentation are all retro in a good way. Prior to the screening, the audience did a stadium-style wave for the director. That’s getting into the 80s!
Documentary Film Festival

LA Film Fest: Talking to Morgan Spurlock about Ice Cream

Leo SopickiComment(0)

Morgan Spurlock made a name for himself eating burgers. His film ‘Supersize Me’ was an indictment of the fast food industry. Now he’s moved on to ice cream, and Häagen-Dazs in particular, but, not to convince you not to eat it. Spurlock’s new film ‘Crafted’ debuted at the Los Angeles Film Fest, June 10-18. ‘Crafted’ aims to take us into the mindset of modern craftsmen who choose quality and personal involvement over mass production.
Comedy Film Festival Horror

LA Film Fest: Dude, It’s a Dude-omongus Fest

Leo SopickiComment(0)

Two films at the Los Angeles Film Festival, June 10-18, explored the Dude weltanschauung to bring us all closer to a profound understanding of the essence of dudeness. (Dude, that was heavy.) ‘Flock of Dudes’ looks at what happens when you put off becoming your father for too long. ‘Dude Bro Party Massacre III’ suggests that maybe dudeness could be a topic for satire.
Drama Film Festival

LA Film Fest: Kiernan Shipka of ‘Mad Men’ and Meg Ryan make ‘Fan Girl’ Fun

Leo SopickiComment(0)

‘Fan Girl’, by director Paul Jarrett and screenwriter Gina O’Brien, was a total trip when it premiered at the LA Film Festival. A “trip”? Dude, that’s so last century. If there is anything this movie isn’t, it’s last century. Fan Girl is a winner of a movie because of the writing, the casting, and the acting. If all that works together, the director deserves credit as well. On the surface Fan Girl is a story of teenager Telulah Farrow, played by Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, Flowers in the Attic), who adulates the punk band All Time Low. She thinks she needs to connect with the band and create a music video for her filmmaking class to launch her movie career. What she really needs, and the story beneath the surface, is to learn what is really important in human relationships.
Film Festival Horror

LA Film Fest: Tying People Up for Laughs and Revenge

Leo SopickiComment(0)

I’m making sure the windows are locked tonight. Three consecutive films I viewed at the Los Angeles Film Festival, June 10-18, dealt with tying people up. Not in a nice way, but at least in two cases, a funny way. ‘Caught’ tells the tale of a teen having an affair with a married man who is kidnapped by the man’s wife and, among other things, tied up. In ‘Shevenge’, three BFFs fantasize about how to punish men, which involves tying them up. In ‘Old Tricks’, a burglar learns that you should never try to steal from a retired magician and escape artist. They’re kind of hard to tie up.
Film Festival Filmmaking

DWF: Three Shorts – Fantasy, Love and Our Fragile Grasp on Reality

Leo SopickiComment(0)

Why do filmmakers create short films? Sometimes they are truly motivated to tell a story which only fits in a short format. Other times, it is to show off their skills in order to establish their credentials. Once in a while, they may make a short version of a film that they ultimately want to turn into a feature length production. At this year’s Dances With Films (DWF) festival, held in Hollywood in June, the selection of short films was impressive and contained examples which both fit into and transcended the above reasons. Three films I found impressive all dealt with our perception of what is real: ‘Funny Love,’ ‘Waste Paper,’ and ‘Waiting for You.’