MIX/VHS | Week 059
So many things to see, so little time. Luckily! Our contributors at MIX/VHS have watched everything ever made ever and have decided THIS is the definitive list of what you need to see to feel you have truly lived a full complete life. Check it OUT!
Miami Connection
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE!
What to start with Miami Connection. I’ll start with a plot description but be warned it’s a doozy and makes very little sense. It’s a film about a synth pop band Dragon Sound, led by actor/inspirational speaker/director Y.K Kim. Oh. And they're also all really into taekwondo. When they’re not playing their hit music at Miami’s hottest night club, they are fighting off drug dealers and ninja bikers. Which is interesting because they also believe in non-violence, but they kill a lot of people in this movie. More than any of the bad guys in the film, actually. Oh, and they’re also orphans. The film is hilarious, but the story of how it came to be distributed by Drafthouse Films (a sadly closed down branch of Alamo Drafthouse) is just as entertaining. One of the people working for Drafthouse Films found the complete movie on 35mm for $50 on eBay. They bought it up screened it and decided to get distribution rights for it. When they called Y.K Kim up his response was “F**k off” after explaining that they were completely serious in their offer Kim agrees and now the whole world now knows about Miami Connection and the greatest band of all time Dragon Sound.
- Joey
Lady Bird
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE!
The beauty in romanticism lies in the curiosity of discovery. We have all had dreams of grandeur, of escaping our small-town and cyclical lifestyles. We all have real-world trials we must face, with our family, friends, lovers, workmates. These aspects are inherently human. Lady Bird is just that feeling, encapsulated in one feature film. This film so eloquently, so hilariously, and so realistically provides drama, heartbreak, hilarity, and familiarity in ways that not many other films of the same ilk have captured. In your typical coming-of-age movie, everything works out in the end. Not in Lady Bird, or at least, not in anyway cliche. That's not how the real world works. But their is still romanticism in the way life continues. And Lady Bird showcases this impeccably well.
- Jake
Wild Wild Country
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE!
This is an intriguing docu-series about Indian guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (otherwise known as Osho), and the Rajneeshpuram city he built with the help of his followers especially, his secretary, Sheela, on a 64,000 acre ranch in Antelope, Oregon. Not only does it focus on how the establishment of their utopian community created tension with local ranchers, but how it caused the FBI to get involved due to corruption within their system. Available on Netflix.
- Janet
JAY-Z // Moonlight
Jesus Christ Superstar
WATCH A SCENE HERE!
The first time I came to visit Austin in 2007, I went to Waterloo Records and got turned onto Jesus Christ Superstar by my Aunt (who, at the time, was taking classes at the old old Austin School of Film building on 5th Street). After obsessing over the 1970 album recording for years, I finally found the 1973 film, which, albeit being very VERY 1970s influenced, is such a unique and creative creation. The direction they took to turn the musical into a story about a group of actors driving out in a bus to modern day Jerusalem to "perform" the story of Jesus Christ Superstar captures the timelessness and timeliness of the production. Skip the John Legend-"starred" live show that premiered last Sunday. Watch this film and experience a film that is both a mix of gravely dramatic and insanely goofy.
- Spencer
Like this mix? Tell us what you think in the comments below, and let us know what you’re recommending for us to watch this week!