Reintroduction to Community Affairs

So you're counting down the days until Captain America: The Winter Soldier premieres nationwide April 4. You've read our April feature story and know the trailers by heart (we're a little partial to the Super Bowl version), hunting for glimpses of the West Shoreway, Theater and Warehouse districts.

But if you need even more insight into what Cleveland natives Anthony and Joe Russo have done with their piece of Marvel's universe, it's time to sign up for Hulu Plus and binge on Community.

That's because, while the duo was in postproduction for the first blockbuster of 2014, Joe directed two episodes of the show they got off the ground.

And you don't need Superman's X-ray vision to see the big screen's influence on the quirky NBC cult-comedy.



“His directors’ eye is even keener,” says Yvette Nicole Brown, the Cleveland native who plays Shirley Bennett. In “Geothermal Escapism,” the Community students play a schoolwide game of hot lava (you remember that kids game, right? You must walk on chairs, tables or whatever to avoid the floor, which is deadly) to win Abed’s (Danny Pudi) prized $50,000 comic.

“We don’t have a huge budget on Community, but Joe made that episode look like a movie,” she says.

The action-packed episode was loaded with special effects, stunts, laughs and even LeVar Burton. It echoed the premise of the paintball saga the brothers directed to conclude season two, which put them on Marvel’s radar and got them their career-changing gig.

“He’s learned how to make it even bigger with even less,” Brown says.

“Geothermal” also marked the final episode for Donald Glover, who plays Troy Barnes. “Most of us were blubbering messes,” recalls Brown. But Joe kept the set light and loose, which allowed the actors to stay composed long enough to pull off the scene’s “heartstring moments.”

And for a look at how proudly geeky the brothers really are, queue up “Advanced Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.” Anthony read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy three times each by the end of high school and Joe collected comics for 20 years.

"I was a big fan of Marvel growing up, a big fan of X-Men, Wolverine and Spider-Man," Joe says. That should make it a fun summer of movies for the Russos. Besides their own Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sony's Amazing Spider-Man 2 debuts May 2 and Fox's X-Men: Days of Future Past opens May 23.

CIFF: “The Sax Man” delivers a satisfying performance

What began as a 20-minute short film about saxophonist Maurice Reedus Jr. turned into a three-year project for local filmmakers Todd Bemak and Joe Siebert. Known to Clevelanders as “The Sax Man,” Reedus has been entertaining audiences for more than 17 years with his alto sax outside plays and sporting events. He was selected as one of Cleveland Magazine’s Most Interesting People in 2013. The Sax Man premiered March 22 at Cleveland International Film Festival and has an encore showing at 4:45 p.m. March 30 at Tower City Cinemas. Cleveland Magazine talks to the filmmakers about the  festival experience and Reedus’ influence on our city.

Cleveland Magazine: How did it feel to watch The Sax Man on the big screen for the first time?
Todd Bemak: Premiering here in Cleveland was a very special thing because everybody knows Maurice, and the intent of the film was to show the connection Cleveland has to Maurice. The audience was clapping along to the music and interacting with the film more so than I’ve ever seen. It was almost like it was a live event in front of them, and that was quite amazing.

CM: What did you take away from your time with Maurice?
Joe Siebert: Success isn’t necessarily about becoming rich and famous or being the best at what you do, but it’s about being true to who you are and figuring out a way to contribute that to the world around you. At one point, Maurice could have made it big, but life didn’t work out that way. Instead of giving up on music, he stuck with it even when he had to play on the street to do it. What he ended up creating with that was becoming this essential part of Cleveland that everybody recognizes and has an attachment to that has made a difference in creating an experience in Cleveland.

CM: What are your plans for the film?
TB: We’ve been entering the film into festivals, and we’re just starting to hear back from some. In April we’re taking it to the Memphis International Film and Music Festival, the Arizona International Film Festival, the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival and Beverly Hills International Film Festival. We expect to hear about the May and June festivals soon, so hopefully we get into some of those.

The Cleveland International Film Festival runs through March 30. To browse the full schedule, visit clevelandfilm.org.

By Christina Bucciere

CIFF: "The Winding Stream" Charts the Path of Country Music's Origins

Sara Carter, Maybelle Carter and A.P. Carter

While scientists and physicists debate the universe's origins, there's no debate about the big bang of country music. Recording sessions held in 1927 in Bristol, Tenn., resulted in the debut of the Carter Family, made up of A.P. Carter, his wife Sara and her cousin Maybelle. The family from Maces Spring, Va., would go on to impact country, folk, bluegrass, gospel and even rock music.

June Carter and Johnny Cash

The Winding Stream takes a loving, musical look at the path carved by the family, whose music influenced a young Johnny Cash, who himself would go on to marry June Carter — one of Maybelle's three daughters. (Read our March article about the film here.)  The documentary is layered with classic recordings of Carter Family songs such as "Keep on the Sunny Side" and "Can the Circle Be Unbroken" and new and archived interviews with members of several generations of the family, including Johnny Cash. New recordings of Carter Family classics are performed throughout the movie by musicians such as Sheryl Crow, George Jones, Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson and more.

The Cleveland International Film Festival runs through March 30 at Tower City Cinemas. To browse the schedule, visit clevelandfilm.org. The Winding Stream screens March 26 at 7 p.m. at the Cedar Lee Theatre and March 27 at 11:25 a.m. at Tower City Cinemas.

Learn from a Local

 
Judi Strauss teaches cooking and gardening all around the Cleveland area. Originally with the horticulture department of the OSU Extension Service, she segued into a career as an independent kitchen and garden expert. Strauss has written numerous cookbooks, listed on her website, and sells her own custom herb blends. The versatile foodie maintains a lively cooking blog featuring new recipes almost daily and handy tips. Just last week she covered chocolate waffles, pineapple glazed chicken wings, a vegetable soup created from what she found in her pantry and fridge, Moroccan date cake, and advice on how to clean copper kitchenware without chemicals (hint: her method uses lemon and salt).  I follow her on Facebook and her status updates are a source of constant education.

 
She also likes to grow what she puts on the table and helps others do the same. Learn the basics of vegetable gardening with Strauss April 3 at the Wellness Center, operated by Fairview Hospital, at  3035 Wooster Road in Rocky River. Register for the class online or call 440-356-0670. On April 15, she’s leading a one-day class at Wildwood Center, at 7645 Little Mountain Road in Mentor, on herb gardening, sharing information about how to harvest, store and use your crop. Register online or by phone at 440-974-5720.

CIFF: "Oliver, Stoned" is Baked with Laughs

Oliver, Stoned has some high expectations to live up to in the stoner comedy genre. But it fits right in with Half Baked and Pineapple Express, both of which are sidesplitting classics in the subversive category centered around glorifying marijuana.

Oliver is a 26 year old living in his father's garage. A bit of a loser who can't seem to keep from screwing up in life — it might have something to do with smoking a bunch of pot —his shenanigans take a serious turn when a classic car he was driving for a customer to his father's car wash gets stolen. He steals an ice cream truck, believing the truck's driver had stolen the classic car and goes on a weed-empowered adventure to find the car. He gets some help along the way from Megan, who he met after destroying her scooter with the ice cream truck, and his paranoid pot-dealing friend.

The movie is full of laughs, including a hilarious dance montage in front of the ice cream truck and a generally crazy cast of characters who need to be seen to be believed, such as Oliver's dad, who thinks he is a rad 20-something bro dating someone half his age, or a sexually depraved blind clown. And a young kid riding around on his bicycle periodically shows up between scenes to move the film's plot along. Keep an eye out for pop-culture references throughout to movies such as Memento or the Veronica Mars television show.

The 38th annual Cleveland International Film Festival runs through March 30. To browse the schedule, visit clevelandfilm.org.

CIFF: “The Cooler Bandits” Breaks Free

It’s been more than 20 years since the four Akron teenagers dubbed, the Cooler Bandits, committed the 17 restaurant robberies that resulted in harsh prison sentences. While Charlie Kelly, Donovan Harris and Richard “Poochie” Roderick have been able to regain freedom, Frankie Porter, the ringleader of the four, will not be up for a parole hearing until 2035. None of them injured anyone so the rough sentencing shocked many, including filmmaker and Cuyahoga Falls native John Lucas, who has known two of the men since they were young. In 2007, Lucas began making his documentary, The Cooler Bandits. It follows the four as they survive prison and deal with re-entering society as branded felons, and will be screening at the Cleveland International Film Festival at Tower City Cinemas at 2 p.m. March 26 and 11:20 a.m. March 28.

Cleveland Magazine: Why did you choose to make this film?
John Lucas: It’s not a prison story for me, and it’s not an unjust story about lengthy prison sentences. It’s really a story about the friendship of the four. …The three of them [Charlie, Donovan and Poochie] were sent to the same prison together and they grew up in prison. …They held each other down and helped facilitate their growth into who they are now. I thought it was an interesting story on survival and redemption and friendship and juxtaposed what happens when you isolate somebody and send them away basically for life.

CM: What did you learn from these men?
JL: I admired their strength and their resolve and their perseverance and their willingness to accept what they did and try to make up for it and try to move on with their lives. I just learned that friendship can really overcome a lot of things. The bonds that are formed are important.

CM: How did this experience affect your perspective on crime and the justice system?
JL: It just reinforced my belief that we can’t sustain our system with just incarcerating people. … When individuals come back...it’s hard to find housing. It’s hard to get a job…When I grew up it was you did the crime, you did the time. You know, you paid for your crime. That’s not necessarily true. Once you have that felon label, it can be very difficult.

To learn more about the film, read column Stuart Warner’s “Icing the Cooler Bandits” here.

By Cassie Smith

CIFF: A Fond Farewell in "Adieu Paris"

Patrizia Munz could finally see her future. Her first novel is a smash and her French lover Jean-Jacques Dupret is ready to start a family with her. As she relays these joys over a phone call with Jean-Jacques, he crashes his car and soon is deep in a coma. She rushes from Dusseldorf, Germany, to Paris to attend to her love, but is confronted by his cold wife Francoise.

When the decision about Jean-Jacques’ life gets passed to Patrizia’s hands, the free-spirited German must decide whether to hold onto to the 1 percent chance that her lover will survive or pull the plug and face a future alone. She finds solace in a fellow traveler, but her new friendship only reminds her of the life-altering decision she has to make.

Adieu Paris confronts life’s most difficult situations with honest, raw emotions while still embracing a few pockets of laughter. It offers viewers a look at what we are capable of when pushed to the extremes. Moments of utter brokenness result in unlikely friendships and ironic laughter. Although devastating, the film subtlety reminds viewers that a life thrown off course can still be sweet.

The 38th annual Cleveland International Film Festival runs through March 30. To browse the schedule, visit clevelandfilm.org.