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Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)

Hannah Takes the Stairs
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Directed by Joe Swanberg.
American independent filmmaker Joe Swanberg's 2007 feature Hannah Takes the Stairs concerns Hannah (Greta Gerwig), a recent college graduate who spends one long, unsatisfying summer in the Windy City attempting to achieve romantic fulfillment in a seemingly endless series of relationships. Drifting in and out of infatuation, but never quite reaching satisfaction, Hannah begins to pose an emotional threat to herself and those around her. The picture co-stars filmmakers Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha) and Todd Rohal (The Guatemalan Handshake) as well as screenwriter Kent Osborne (The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie). Gerwig co-authored the script with Osborne and Swanberg. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
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KarinaKarina Hannah Takes the Back-Handed Pr ...
by Karina in Karina on SpoutBlog
liked it.
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 "Hannah Takes the Stairs comes out on DVD today (see bloggy debate over the package’s generic rom-com design at FILMMAKER and Cinematical), which means that my Google Alert for “mumblecore” has been on fire for a number of days. In the grand scheme of things, this is a small release, and most publications reviewing it as a part of a Tuesday new release round-up don’t have much space to give. But IFC’s website (sister to the company that released the film theatrically) gives critic Michael Atkinson 500 words––and though he ultimately gets around to a positive review of this movie, he devotes the first 230 words or so to explaining why mumblecore is shit. “Is it even a movement?” Atkinson grumbles. “Is anyone outside of the ticket buyers at a handful of smallish American film festivals passionate about these movies, and if not, why are they getting so much press?” Surely, Atkinson knows that the mumble-hate contingent has tread and re-tread this terrirory many times over––after all, A ... " [More]
SpoutBlogSpoutBlog Hannah Takes the Back-Handed Pr ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
 "Hannah Takes the Stairs comes out on DVD today (see bloggy debate over the package’s generic rom-com design at FILMMAKER and Cinematical), which means that my Google Alert for “mumblecore” has been on fire for a number of days. In the grand scheme of things, this is a small release, and most publications reviewing it as a part of a Tuesday new release round-up don’t have much space to give. But IFC’s website (sister to the company that released the film theatrically) gives critic Michael Atkinson 500 words––and though he ultimately gets around to a positive review of this movie, he devotes the first 230 words or so to explaining why mumblecore is shit. “Is it even a movement?” Atkinson grumbles. “Is anyone outside of the ticket buyers at a handful of smallish American film festivals passionate about these movies, and if not, why are they getting so much press?” Surely, Atkinson knows that the mumble-hate contingent has tread and re-tread this terrirory many times over––after all, A ... " [More]
KarinaKarina In Defense of The M-Word as Off ...
by Karina in Karina on SpoutBlog
liked it.
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 "Here’s an excerpt from a comment by Variety writer Peter Debruge, left on a SXSW dispatch by Aaron Hillis on Glenn Kenny’s blog: Pretty soon, it all reduces to semantics, but the label benefits those it describes in that it connects films that, on an individual basis, would be too small to register on most people’s radar. Would Hannah Takes the Stairs or Quiet City or Mutual Appreciation have warranted a NY Times piece on their own? (Then again, is the NYT even the right forum to discuss such films, which seem to do just fine with the more selective audience of the blogosphere?) Debruge is here giving us an object lesson in why most applications of The M Word are really, really frustrating: the genre label becomes a polite form of thinly masking the condescending assumption that none of these films can stand on their own without it. Mutual Appreciation is not a film that needs a movement as a prerequisite, especially one which mostly coalesced after its premiere. As resolutely anal ... " [More]
SpoutBlogSpoutBlog In Defense of The M-Word as Off ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
 "Here’s an excerpt from a comment by Variety writer Peter Debruge, left on a SXSW dispatch by Aaron Hillis on Glenn Kenny’s blog: Pretty soon, it all reduces to semantics, but the label benefits those it describes in that it connects films that, on an individual basis, would be too small to register on most people’s radar. Would Hannah Takes the Stairs or Quiet City or Mutual Appreciation have warranted a NY Times piece on their own? (Then again, is the NYT even the right forum to discuss such films, which seem to do just fine with the more selective audience of the blogosphere?) Debruge is here giving us an object lesson in why most applications of The M Word are really, really frustrating: the genre label becomes a polite form of thinly masking the condescending assumption that none of these films can stand on their own without it. Mutual Appreciation is not a film that needs a movement as a prerequisite, especially one which mostly coalesced after its premiere. As resolutely anal ... " [More]
mattypromattypro Re:Episode 5: LAUGH ATTACK
by mattypro in Butterknife
hasn't rated it.
"I get it. The formula that is. Stuff happens at work. Stuff happens at home. They relate to and effect one another. The element I have responded to on each episode is the reaction of Ron vs. the reaction of Mary. (As a side note, its weird how they are listed as un-named, and yet they are called by name in the episodes ??) We get to see Ron's day job and then we get to hear about Mary's time at work. This is very familiar to me as when at home I rarely bring up work while my wife seems to speak of nothing else. I wonder if this is just coincidence but it seems likely that Swanberg has hit upon another tidbit of relationship realism that gives this series its charm and "truthiness." I found myself chuckling uncomfortably or grimacing during the first section of each short and then grinning during the home interactions. However, after reading the comments of the other posters from previous episodes, I have begun to wonder if this series is meant for or somehow ... " [More]
KarinaKarina SXSW Preview: Yeast
by Karina in Karina on SpoutBlog
liked it.
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 "Yeast [trailer]Add to My Profile | More Videos Welcome to the first of many posts that we’ll be doing over the next couple of weeks, previewing upcoming SXSW premieres and profiling their makers. I’m so excited to start this plug fest with the work of a good friend of Spout, Mary Bronstein’s Yeast. Mary, of course, is the co-star of the Spout current webseries Butterknife, and she also starred in her husband Ronnie Bronstein’s debut feature, Frownland (which, incidentally, will be running for a week at the IFC Center in New York concurrent with Yeast’s debut in Austin). Mary stars again in Yeast, alongside Greta Gerwig (Hannah Takes the Stairs), and together they explore friendships that are, according to the SXSW synopsis, “Ebola-infested, maggot-filled and bursting at the seams.” You can watch the trailer for Yeast above. Below, check out Mary’s answers to the 4 Questions We’re Asking Everybody (heretofore known as the 4QWAE). Yeast, which is screening in the Narrative Competitio ... " [More]
SpoutBlogSpoutBlog SXSW Preview: Yeast
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
 "Yeast [trailer]Add to My Profile | More Videos Welcome to the first of many posts that we’ll be doing over the next couple of weeks, previewing upcoming SXSW premieres and profiling their makers. I’m so excited to start this plug fest with the work of a good friend of Spout, Mary Bronstein’s Yeast. Mary, of course, is the co-star of the Spout current webseries Butterknife, and she also starred in her husband Ronnie Bronstein’s debut feature, Frownland (which, incidentally, will be running for a week at the IFC Center in New York concurrent with Yeast’s debut in Austin). Mary stars again in Yeast, alongside Greta Gerwig (Hannah Takes the Stairs), and together they explore friendships that are, according to the SXSW synopsis, “Ebola-infested, maggot-filled and bursting at the seams.” You can watch the trailer for Yeast above. Below, check out Mary’s answers to the 4 Questions We’re Asking Everybody (heretofore known as the 4QWAE). Yeast, which is screening in the Narrative Competitio ... " [More]
SpoutBlogSpoutBlog Sundance 2008: Greta Gerwig of ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
 "Greta Gerwig is a well-connected actor in a growing network DIY independent filmmakers (here’s a flowchart). She starred as Hannah in Joe Swanberg’s Hannah Takes the Stairs alongside Mark Duplass. Now Mark and his brother Jay are following up their 2005 Sundance hit The Puffy Chair with Baghead, starring Gerwig. In this interview we talk about living in the woods in Texas, improvised dialog, and the dream of a low-budget indie Victorian period piece. Also on SpoutBlog: Sundance Video: Promotion -Joe and Ronnie follow Greta into a Sundance “gifting” session where accepting a free blow drier has unexpected consequences. FilmCouch #35 -Karina puts the smack-down on Gawker’s “review” of Hannah Takes the Stairs at the New Talkies: Generation DIY festival last summer at IFC Center. Greta Gerwig Interview Originally posted on:SpoutBlog " [More]
KarinaKarina Sundance Video: Promotion
by Karina in Karina on SpoutBlog
liked it.
Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
 "Sundance 6: Promotion Add to My Profile | More Videos In Joe and Ronnie’s latest video dispatch, Joe follows sometime collaborators Greta Gerwig and Mark Duplass around as they do press for their Sundance Spectrum entry, Baghead. Ronnie recuses himself. Previous Sundance video coverage from Joe and Ronnie: The Sucker and the Crank Opening Night Who Killed Davey Moore? Melee on Main Street George Romero Blackout You can watch all of Joe and Ronnie???s Sundance coverage, as well as the trailer and promos for Butterknife, at our MySpace page. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » karina " [More]
SpoutBlogSpoutBlog Sundance Video: Promotion
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
 "Sundance 6: Promotion Add to My Profile | More Videos In Joe and Ronnie’s latest video dispatch, Joe follows sometime collaborators Greta Gerwig and Mark Duplass around as they do press for their Sundance Spectrum entry, Baghead. Ronnie recuses himself. Previous Sundance video coverage from Joe and Ronnie: The Sucker and the Crank Opening Night Who Killed Davey Moore? Melee on Main Street George Romero Blackout You can watch all of Joe and Ronnie???s Sundance coverage, as well as the trailer and promos for Butterknife, at our MySpace page. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog " [More]
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Tags: relationships , mumblecore , jobs , ifc , writing
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