In 1979 Santa Barbara, Dorothea is a determined single mother who is raising her son, Jamie. Dorothea enlists the help of two women — Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist and Julie, a savvy teenager — to help with Jamie’s upbringing.

20th.Century.Women.2016.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

General
Container:	Matroska
Runtime:	1h 58mn
Size:	2.66 GiB
DXVA:	Compatible
Minimum settings:	Met
Video
Codec:	x264
Resolution:	1024x512
Aspect ratio:	2.000
Frame rate:	23.976 fps
Bit rate:	2 694 kb/s
Audio
#1:	English 5.1ch AC-3 @ 448 kb/s
#2:	English 2.0ch Vorbis @ 64.0 kb/s (Commentary with writer/director Mike Mills)

https://nitro.download/view/1D752EA2DA8B263/20th.Century.Women.2016.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Language(s):English
Subtitles:English, Spanish

The post Mike Mills – 20th Century Women (2016) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
If you’re in the business of selling dog food, you’ll know that dog owners are in the habit of projecting their own personality onto their precious pooches. What then, does a Wiener-Dog have to say about its owner? Hell, what does a dog resembling a frankfurter have to say about life, death, addiction and despair? These are the (not entirely serious) questions posed in Todd Solondz’s latest film. A short, bittersweet comedy which connects four separate stories of everyday weirdness through the welcome denominator of dogs short in limb and long in torso.

First off is the parenting challenge that dog ownership poses for combative couple Danny (Tracy Letts) and Dina (Julie Delpy). They hope that caring for a pet will teach their son some important lessons about life and responsibility, not realising that little Remi (Keaton Nigel Cooke) will also have to confront the darker side of inter-species relations. We’re then treated to a loosely plotted week in the life of awkward drop-outs Dawn (Greta Gerwig) and Brandon (Kieran Culkin). They take a depressive road-trip that feels pitched somewhere between David Lynch and the Farrelly brothers. The final two stories concern sad-sack screenwriter and teacher Dave Schmerz (Danny DeVito) – struggling to keep pace, creatively, with the very millennials who turn to him for guidance – and the even sadder story of Zoe (Zosia Mamet) and her Nana (Marcella Lowery).

Throughout, Solondz never allows a situation to get too serious. Something clownish or ludicrous is always peeking round the corner. At times, as with the very finale of the film, this works brilliantly: generating something darkly hilarious and cutely uncomfortable. At other times – as with the ending of Dave Schmerz’s tale – the effect can feel slapdash and dispiriting. The wiener dog is always present somewhere, a constant source of silliness in a film that also contains hard drug use and a discussion of human sterilization. You can never tie down where the film is coming from; it’s never quite clear if the dog owners are being mocked for caring for these ridiculous animals when their own lives are in such disarray, or if the tenderness felt for these hapless creatures is something redemptive and noble. It’s strange, a little maddening, and utterly compelling. Big league dog-lovers probably won’t like it.

https://nitro.download/view/32C9B063BEA36E2/Todd_Solondz_-_(2016)_Wiener-Dog.mkv

Language(s):English
Subtitles:None

The post Todd Solondz – Wiener-Dog (2016) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
…Mary Bronstein’s deliciously spiky and uncompromised Yeast, part of the ‘Uncharted States of America’ strand dedicated to off-radar US cinema. One of my main criteria for this strand is that I shouldn’t have heard of any of the actors beforehand – but I had to bend the rule for Yeast as it stars Greta Gerwig, who, while not anyone’s idea of a household name, has become reasonably well-known in certain cineastic circles as the most recognisable “face” of that group of films labelled as ‘Mumblecore.’
Yeast would make a particularly fascinating double-bill with Frownland, and not just because the latter was written and directed by Mary Bronstein’s husband Ronnie. Both films are what I’d call horrible triumphs – endurance tests for the audience, as pretty much everyone on screen is unsympathetic and/or gratingly annoying. That’s very much the whole point of Yeast, which is essentially seventy-odd minutes of dislikable people getting on each other’s nerves – and ours. Doesn’t sound like fun, but what emerges proves oddly compelling in its raw brittleness. The story focusses on a pair of roommates who’ve started to seriously fall out – there isn’t a great deal story-wise, instead it’s all about character, dialogue and the unspoken non-verbal communication that reveals just how deeply dysfunctional these people really are.
Patience is demanded – but it’s very much rewarded, especially during a breathtaking climax set in a grim (real-life) amusement-park, Six Flags, involving a cutely nightmarish stage act that features a certain ‘Annie Amnesia.’ As the story hurtles towards its inevitable dead-end, what we’re left with is a kind of 21st-century American-anomie update of Jacques Rivette’s Celine and Julie Go Boating. Except this time, there’s only one girl left in the boat.

Mary Bronstein - (2008) Yeast.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1h 17mn
Size: 	1.17 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	714x480 ~> 714x535
Aspect ratio:  	4:3
Frame rate: 	23.976 fps
Bit rate: 	1 886 Kbps
BPP: 	0.230
Audio
#1:  	English 2.0ch AC-3 @ 256 Kbps

https://nitro.download/view/5C4D4BBACDF1D8D/Mary_Bronstein_-_(2008)_Yeast.mkv
https://nitro.download/view/96CD0D241B683DC/Mary_Bronstein_-_(2008)_Yeast.en.srt

Language(s):English
Subtitles:None

The post Mary Bronstein – Yeast (2008) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

From the official website:
Mattie and James are in love. But too many mornings and too many miles apart have taken a toll on them. As they struggle with the distance between New York and Chicago, their visits become reminders of the difficulties, not the pleasures, of their relationship. Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig follow HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS with this intimate portrayal of longing and confusion. This time Swanberg co-stars with Gerwig, and Gerwig co-directs with Swanberg, creating a film that resonates deeply and leaves scars that fade but can’t heal.

Extras:
A commentary with co-producers Dia Sokol and Anish Savjani centers on the mechanics of making a low-budget indie; only sporadically do the two offer meaty anecdotes or delve into analysis of the film. The commentary is not without some interest, but insights from Swanberg and Gerwig would have been much more worthwhile.

Also included are five minutes, four seconds of Joe Swanberg teasers for Nights and Weekends. One of the teasers can be viewed separately as the trailer. Rounding things out is a test short (5:58) featuring Swanberg and Gerwig as their characters.

Nights and Weekends (2008).mkv

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Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 19 min
Size: 	1.35 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	716x480 ~> 853x480
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Audio
#1:  	English 2.0ch AC-3 @ 192 kb/s
#2:  	English 2.0ch AC-3 @ 192 kb/s (Commentary with Producers Anish Savjani and Dia Sokol Savage)

https://nitro.download/view/8712ACDA7CC0E62/Nights_and_Weekends_(2008).mkv
https://nitro.download/view/BF0D11745379DB5/Nights_and_Weekends_(2008)_Extras.rar

Language(s):English
Subtitles:English, Spanish

The post Joe Swanberg & Greta Gerwig – Nights and Weekends (2008) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Hannah is a recent college graduate interning at a Chicago production company. She is crushing on two writers at work, Matt and Paul, who share an office and keep her entertained. Will a relationship with one of them disrupt the delicate balance of their friendship?

Hannah.Takes.the.Stairs.2007.DVDRip.x264.AC3-DEEP.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1h 23mn
Size: 	1.41 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	712x480 ~> 853x480
Aspect ratio:  	16:9
Frame rate: 	23.976 fps
Bit rate: 	1 973 Kbps
BPP: 	0.241
Audio
#1:  	English 2.0ch AC-3 @ 192 Kbps
#2:  	English 2.0ch AC-3 @ 192 Kbps (Commentary by Joe Swanberg, Greta Gerwig and Kent Osborne)

https://nitro.download/view/1D8327C1CC83511/Hannah.Takes.the.Stairs.2007.DVDRip.x264.AC3-DEEP.mkv

Language(s):English
Subtitles:English, Spanish

The post Joe Swanberg – Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
Following up on the surprise success of their micro-budget production THE PUFFY CHAIR (2005), brothers Jay and Mark Duplass turn their handheld DV camera toward skewering the pretentiousness of the independent film world while tossing in a few horror film scares for good measure. The result is entertaining and unique, with enough laughs, insight, and excitement for adventurous viewers. After seeing the accolades heaped up on a colleague for his laughable film (WE ARE NAKED) at a Los Angeles film festival, Matt (Ross Partridge) decides that he can do better. With his sometime girlfriend, Catherine (Elise Muller), and friends Michelle (Greta Gerwig, HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS) and Chad (Steve Zissis) in tow, they immediately set off to a cabin in the woods for the weekend to create the film that will make them all famous on the festival circuit. While Chad focuses his energy on winning the affections of uninterested Michelle, Matt comes up with the cinematic construct of a stranger with a paper bag on his head terrorizing a group of people in the woods. After the initial evening of alcoholic brainstorming, though, the idea becomes reality, and the friends’ relationships are tested as they find themselves in a truly scary situation. The idea for BAGHEAD was hatched on the set of the THE PUFFY CHAIR when, during a discussion requesting those involved to think of the scariest thing imaginable, someone said, “A guy with a bag on his head staring into your window.” Though it may be a flimsy starting point for a film, the Duplasses surround the idea with a believable cast, truthful insight into relationships, and a few genuine chills. The result is clever, funny, and refreshingly difficult to classify.

Director: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Writers: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, John E. Bryant
Cast: Ross Partridge, Elise Muller, Greta Gerwig
Producer: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, John E. Bryant
Cinematography: Jay Duplas
Music: J. Scott Howard
Production Company: Duplass Brothers Productions/LLC.
Country: United States
Language: English
Runtime: 1h 24mn

Jay Duplass & Mark Duplass - (2008) Baghead.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 20 min
Size: 	1.45 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	1024x576 
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Frame rate: 	23.976 fps
Bit rate: 	
BPP: 	
Audio
#1:  	English 2.0ch AAC LC (LPCM 2.0)

https://nitro.download/view/14105CC1C034347/Jay_Duplass_&_Mark_Duplass_-_(2008)_Baghead.mkv

Language(s):English
Subtitles:English

The post Jay Duplass – Baghead (2008) first appeared on Cinema of the World.