Earlier today the trailer for a new movie called Inside Llewyn Davis came out. This film was created by the Coen Brothers and tells the tale of a fictional folk singer from the Greenwich Village scene which stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman. According to Rolling Stone, the film is loosely based on the life of Dave Van Ronk. No release date has been set yet.

Here’s the trailer featuring a Bob Dylan soundtrack…

In other news, here’s a batch of fresh links hot out of the HT oven…

• List Time: 10 Essential Albums for Starting a Jazz Collection
• Paul Dano to play a young Brian Wilson in the upcoming biopic Love and Mercy
• Cover Alert: Anthrax tackles Rush
• Vampire Weekend to release their third studio album on May 7
• Download This: Chuck Berry – The Fillmore – 1967-03-19
• The out-of-left field pairing of Elvis Costello and The Roots have recorded an album

Finally, as we previously reported, on April 18 the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame will hold its 28th induction ceremony at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, where they will honor their 2013 class of Rush, Public Enemy, Heart, Donna Summer, Albert King, Quincy Jones, Lou Adler and Randy Newman. Yesterday the Rock Hall revealed the first round of presenters and performers that will honor this year’s inductees, which included Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters inducting prog-rockers Rush, John Mayer and Gary Clark Jr. teaming up to honor blues-legend Albert King and Don Henley (The Eagles) who will induct singer-songwriter Randy Newman. The ceremonies will be aired on HBO on Saturday, May 18 at 9 PM EST.

The decision-making process is difficult enough without having to factor in death. When one jump-starts fate in a way that is unnatural and lacking any organic flow, chance becomes almost an innocent bystander in this game called life.

Which is all the usual fancy way to preface our look at this edition of cinematic treasure—lost, found, rediscovered, or otherwise. With a shadow-y narrator whose calling card is the act of whistling while discussing the puzzle and characters of a mystery, or, in some cases, an odd but telling twist of fate, one saw what would surely become an almost dry run of the Twilight Zone program, featured on television over a decade later, in William Castle’s 1944 film, The Whistler.

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The LCD Soundsystem documentary Shut Up and Play The Hits lived up to the hype surrounding the band’s final 2011 MSG finale. As we mentioned, the DVD / Bluray release of the film will be accompanied by footage from the entire concert and today we’ve got a release date – October 9.

Available for pre-order through James Murphy’s DFA Records, Shut Up and Play The Hits is spread over three discs with one disc containing the film and the other two containing every note LCD Soundsystem played at MSG on April 2, 2011. The DVDs run $32.99 while the Blurays will set you back $35.99.

Tomorrow’s the day we’ll finally get to see Shut Up And Play The Hits, a documentary about LCD Soundsystem’s “final show.”  The movie, created by filmmakers Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, will play in theaters across the country for one night only. More than a straight concert film, Shut Up And Play The Hits will profile the band’s front man James Murphy, and his decision to end the band’s career with a big blow out at NYC’s Madison Square Garden in April of 2011.

James recently discussed the film with Huffington Post and within the article is a tidbit of information that got us extremely excited: Murphy “helped cut a 3 1/2 hr., music-only version of the film” which likely contains the whole epic concert. So while Shut Up And Play The Hits does feature the band playing songs in its entirety, it spends plenty of time profiling Murphy in the days before, day of and days after the big show. Thankfully we should eventually get the best of both worlds when SUAPTH and the MSG show in its entirety make it onto DVD/Blu-Ray. The process wasn’t easy as Murphy told HuffPo, “Making a movie takes forever. Making two movies takes double forever.” No word yet on when we can expect to see the music-only version, but we’ll be on the lookout and let you know when we hear anything definitive. Here’s the SUAPTH trailer…

Fans of the early Kevin Smith movies, especially Mallrats, will get a kick out of today’s oddball video selection. A clever Photoshopper took the liberty of decoding the secret image behind the picture at the mall stand, and it turns out that after all these years, the character Willam – who could never see the sailboat – gets the last laugh. In actuality, it’s really just a collection of geometric shapes.

When Slade Sohmer moved on from running this site in 2008, I reluctantly took the reins having no prior experience in editing or leading a team of contributors. Two days after taking over I was contacted by one of my favorite writers, Randy Ray, who wanted to pen a column about movies for HT. I was so honored and felt that if Randy was interested in writing for us, we must have something special here. Now, four years later, Randy, who quickly became a friend, has filed his last Hidden Flick column. We can’t thank him enough for all his hard work and for believing in Hidden Track. – SB

We find ourselves at the end of our little journey. After five seasons, five special editions, and 80 columns in pursuit of hidden cinematic gems, we close the door on Hidden Flick with a final look at a film that either has some sort of secret truth or weary wisdom. Now, I use the word weary because, in many respects, the films canvassed in this ‘little column that could’ seemed to be about souls that were either at the proverbial crossroads, or burned out.

Burned out. One would hesitate to use that phrase about oneself. However, it is a clear indication of the interest level in life when most of the films discussed seek questions, instead of answers. Because it is the questions that keep us moving forward; whereby, the answers, oftentimes given for some need for clarity, are occasionally not only incorrect, but misleading, as well.

In Michael Cuesta’s 2011 film, Roadie, the main character returns home as a worn-down caricature of himself, desperately trying to maintain his hold on the bottom rung of stardom. He was a roadie for Blue Öyster Cult for 26 years, and now, even that fleeting chance at something bigger, something larger than himself, something truly ROCKING, has died out.

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On May 22 MVD Entertainment Group will release a documentary on DVD called Dawn of the Dead: The Grateful Dead & The Rise Of The San Francisco Underground, a film profiling the early days of The Dead and the other psychedelic bands that emerged out of the Bay Area.

This film contains rare archival footage of the Grateful Dead in action as well as brand-new interviews with one-time Grateful Dead manager Rock Scully, keyboardist Tom ‘T.C.’ Constanten, Big Brother’s Peter Albin, Mike Willhelm from The Charlatans, publicist and official Dead biographer Dennis McNally, Grateful Dead Hour host David Gans, Merry Prankster and Ken Kesey collaborator Ken Babbs along with commentary from journalists Anthony De Curtis of Rolling Stone, Village Voice’s Robert Christgau and Mojo’s Ritchie Unterberger. Here’s a look at the trailer for Dawn of the Dead…

You can currently pre-order the movie for $14.96.

Whether it’s been the shift from five Best Picture nominees to ten, the general lack of epic movies or just an off couple of years, the Academy Awards have become a suck fest. Last year struggled mostly due to the failed attempt at going young with James Franco and Anne Hathaway, while this year they recognized last year’s foible, turned about face, and high tailed it back to highbrow. And that equally sucked.

As admirable as it was that a black and white homage to the silent movie era won top honors with The Artist, few observers would call that the most entertaining picture of the year. It was a bold project, sure, but it’s hardly a “can’t turn my eyes away” engrossing story that commands anyone’s attention span. Chalk it up to yet another elitist selection by the Academy.

Oddly, while the list nominees at the Oscars this year were among the weakest they’ve ever been, a lot of lowbrow films really delivered this year, captivating viewers from the moment the projector light went on until the last frame rolled.

So, today we’ll point you to some of the best films for those of us who like to be entertained at the movies, as opposed to just staring eye to eye with the bare ass of the emperor’s new clothes.

Best Picture: 50/50 – Among our lowbrow award winners, no film deserves to be considered lowbrow less than 50/50, but simply because Seth Rogen shows up and he’s funny makes it a long shot for serious consideration during awards season. Nevertheless, the story, based on true events between Rogen and one of his best friends, takes you through an emotional car wash. You’ll probably cry on average 14 times experience some serious sadness, but the best part about 50/50 is that unlike most tearjerkers, you walk away feeling nothing but good and probably dialing the number of your best friend.

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More than just plain ironic, it seemed fitting that the 2011 film, The Artist, would bring home the Best Picture honor from that outdated beast known as the Academy Awards. Who would have thought that a black and white film, bereft of dialogue, could garner such attention in the 21st century, the century of cynicism and hopelessness and a loss of faith in quality and timelessness?

While films are mired in the technology needed to create them in the modern cinematic era—whether it is IMAX 3-D, or Real 3-D, or 4-D, with its volley of objects thrown at the viewer, or furniture that creates mini-aftershocks, or THX sound, with its blitzkrieg of yakking medieval noises, or the ultimate 5-D experience where the viewer gets physically involved in a film, and shapes the outcome in a new and infinitely-plotted film for all time—the non-James Cameron crowd, wearing its proverbial anti-tech badges, wonders what else there is to view and hear and feel and experience and allow to invade the hearts and minds and souls of a gone generation.

Which is exactly the sort of thing that rubs me the wrong way. If anything, my little Hidden Flicks over the last few years have been a celebration of story over structure, and I sometimes got lost in those metaphysical columns without really understanding what drives a film—it is the visual motifs wedded with audio brilliance coupled with timeless characterizations, which make a piece of celluloid stand the test of time, not so much how it was made, or in what format. Technology drives these images, and it is technology, controlled and manipulated, that, ultimately, drives us, too, whether we want to continue riding this flat line to oblivion, or not.

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[Originally Published: May 31, 2011]

The old wizard turned away from his creation, and vanished beyond the veil of illusion. One wonders if the world would ever see him again, let alone have any sort of real discourse about his hidden knowledge. As he glanced back one last time in the darkness, there was a bemused sparkling look in his eyes.

John Boorman’s Excalibur came out 30 years ago in 1981. As one previews the current onslaught of action hero films based predominantly on Marvel Comic adaptations, one is apt to look back at the legends of old, especially as this is being written on Memorial Day, a day when our culture celebrates our fallen heroes—in and out of battle.

Excalibur is an excellent feast for the eyes—the battle sequences are superb, and the scenery is both rugged and beautiful—and the ears—the soundtrack is a combination of classic pieces culled from the archives of some of the legendary musical figures of our past, and newer motifs written by Trevor Jones. Excalibur faired well with film goers 30 years ago, but its selection here is more so because of its quest for hidden knowledge, that which can bond and unite a nation, and give it purpose, as well.

Therefore, we extend a warm salute to a film about a hero named Arthur, his wife, Guinevere, his not-so-loyal knight, Lancelot, a wizard named Merlin, and a sword called Excalbur in this edition of Hidden Flick, John Boorman’s classic take on a legendary tale.

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Filmmaker Malcolm Leo and personal manager John Hartmann have been given the green light to produce a feature-length documentary on Grateful Dead front man Jerry Garcia according to a report by Nikki Finke for Deadline Hollywood. Leo interview Jer’ back in 1987 for three-hours and that conversation will be the basis for the film, which will also include “never-before-seen performances, documentary footage and rare home videos.”

A Less Serious Jerry Garcia Interview From 1987

Leo has a long history of making rock docs including 1981′s This Is Elvis, The Beach Boys: An American Band from 1985 and a series of Rock and Roll Moments TV movies from last decade. A new website for the film aptly titled JerryMovie.com was launched recently and mentions that the film will be released “during the Days Between, 2012,” while Finke’s report claims this film will come out in “the spring in 2012.” We’ll be sure to keep you posted on any details that come out regarding the film’s release.

Leo and Hartmann’s movie is not to be confused with a biopic based on Robert Greenfield’s Dark Star biography that was in the works or one based on roadie Steve Parish’s Home Before Daylight – My Life with the Grateful Dead book. Coming up with an idea for a Grateful Dead movie is the easy part, securing the rights to use the band’s music has proven much more difficult. Now that Leo and Hartmann have secured those rights, their movie won’t be far behind.

The word family is an odd one as it can mean a genetic link, a gathering of like-minded souls, or quite simply, a pack of living beings that happen to occupy the same space at the same time. Perhaps, no one word can cause such a different definition from so many varying people from numerous cultures. In the end, what one makes of the term says just as much about that particular person as it does about the very word ‘family’.

In our special holiday edition of Hidden Flick, we ponder a film that was made by a comedian as he directed, produced and co-wrote a rather appropriate little statement about family, and the odd path one takes to define its elusive nature, whether through biology or other societal constraints. We sift through the evidence, as always, and we ponder that person of disinterest, that chap that no one bothers to notice sitting in a weird way in the corner laughing away, always laughing.

Ahhh, yes, the wayward comedian in our midst.

Born Joseph Levitch in Newark, New Jersey in 1926, the young Jewish comedian would become Jerry Lewis, team up with Dean Martin as one half of the Beatles of comedy, and ultimately become a solo act that has been unmatched for pure longevity, philanthropy and artistic vigor.

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The holiday season brings with it many things—friends, food, fun and a whole phantasm of events that seem to bury one in woeful debt, blurred memories, and a nagging sense of ‘what just happened there?’. Ahhh…but we often hear a sound, a faint sound in the distance, and know it to be true—the holidays always begin with a certain event. If you are a longtime music fan, that tradition opens with Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant, strings together some Band magic from The Last Waltz, and well, I’m sure there could be a 26-minute Halley’s Comet in that sweet mix, too. THE sound, indeed.

And that sound you hear isn’t a bowl of mashed potatoes splattered against the wall, or a brandy bottle breaking in the back alley, or even a dessert cart wheeled off the balcony. No, that’s the sound of the Great Beast Itself. Yep—the traditional Thanksgiving Turkey.

We skipped this particular edition last year, but brought the behemoth back in 2011. So get your forks, spoons, and knives out (hell, dig out the snow shovel, too), and get ready for this look at a turkey of the cinematic flavor with a look at Trapped in Paradise. The 1994 holiday film starred Nicolas Cage, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey. Ostensibly, a warm-hearted comedy with a fair dash of mild drama and some old-fashioned romance thrown in for good measure, the film was also a flop at the box office, while being scorned by the critics. Which, of course, is all just fine within the realm of Hidden Flick.

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The water encapsulates so much of all that is life and all that dominates our planet and all that swallows up our existence and makes it pure and deep and real that one can easily forget that the sea is a very lonely place for a reason. Being at the top can have its misgivings as only those who have occupied its desolate throne can attest.

And the water runs through all, encapsulates everything that we are, and hope to be, runs around in circles, bends upwards, twists downwards, explores ‘neath the shallow waves until it stops somewhere for a brief moment before daylight, sunlight, washed-out light beckons from upwards (or is it down?), and life races forth, to replace the bends in the darkness, cradling one’s amnesiac head, searching for the limbs of some weird aura thief. Honey spills from the tree, onto a racing body of water, and it disappears like all life.

Up above on the surface, one dwells in the sense of self-importance, inner ambition, outer rage, in betwixt some sort of answer hiding in many questions. Meanwhile, in the deep blue sea, nothing seems to matter quite like that—as the universe expands outwards, inevitably to disappear, or, quite contrarily, to contract back into the Big Crunch, seeking nothing, pulling all that it once was into a singular focal point—OK Computer wedded with In Rainbows washes ashore to herald a twin-side masterpiece as time marches on—life serves no purpose whatsoever other than to see what can endure…and what cannot.

In Luchino Visconti’s La Terra Trema, a fisherman and his family, are washed ashore by reality, and within its 165 minutes of melancholic sorrow and remorse is the dawning specter of doom. But one would be hard-pressed to see the film as JUST that. And, considering that we are about to hit the end of a season in which every little hidden piece of the human soul has been dissected and tossed out like some giant whale carcass, one can see the light in the darkness, the glimmer of faith in something; indeed, some hope.

READ ON for more on this week’s Hidden Flick – La Terra Trema…

Crossing back into time, one feels an almost drifting sense of purpose; fleeting, at best, but often wandering outwards, amidst some other surreal force; constantly, persistently pulling and pushing one onto a destiny which is always in reach, but seems so far away.

The human pursuit for land and resources has reached an almost epic battle point, prefacing some sort of almighty negative spin which has neither a mysterious conclusion, nor seems inevitable. Let’s face it, in a conflict of species versus planet, well…species would lose, wouldn’t it? Is the earth a species? Are we? Or, are we some sort of hodge podge, some mixture of the tease, some amalgamation, a wolfman’s brother, forged by the mind, the third eye of some unseen extraterrestrial force? Is this land we inhabit real?

In Carroll Ballard’s modest 1983 masterpiece, Never Cry Wolf, one feels an almost intangible pull towards the truth on a journey of modern man versus ancient beast. Scripted by Curtis Hanson, Sam Hamm, Richard Kletter and Ralph Furmaniak, and based upon the autobiography by conservationist Farley Mowat, the power of the film rests in the formidable work of actor Charles Martin Smith. Smith has the unlucky task of making his performance blend with the natural skills of his non-human thespians, the wolves, caribou and critters, effortlessly telling their parallel tale along with the straight narrative. Smith also redefines what it feels like to be a stranger in a strange land. His epiphany, through his acting—spoken word, quiet gesture and dawning wisdom—of what humans have become, is sobering to the core in this edition of Hidden Flick. READ ON for more on this week’s Hidden Flick…