Writing and directing duo Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden stunned me with the left hook that was their 2006 film Half Nelson. That project was a Ryan Gosling-starring film about a drug-addicted teacher trying to touch the lives of inner city children. Then they knocked me on my ass with the quick uppercut that was their 2008 film Sugar, which was a look at the life of a man from the Dominican Republic who is recruited to come to the U.S. and play professional baseball, but who doesn’t quite find it to be the glamorous experience one might expect. After that, they made It’s Kind of a Funny Story in 2010, and that saw me regaining my wits and getting back to my feet, because it was kind of a crappy movie. So, here I am, standing here dazed, waiting for Fleck and Boden’s next punch, what’s it going to be? According to Variety, it will be a drama called Hate Mail, which follows the intersecting lives of a series of Manhattanites who have all had relationship-ruining experiences regarding the receipt of hate mail. That’s about all of the information out there regarding this film so far, but it’s news to me just because of the filmmakers attached. I thought Half Nelson and Sugar put these two right up there with Ramin Bahrani when it comes to modern, minimalist filmmakers, so I’m hoping that It’s Kind of a Funny Story was just a momentary misstep. I guess Hate Mail will [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

From the use of the 500 Days of Summer font to the quirky premise and the extensive use of Ida Maria’s “Oh My God,” in the trailer, It’s Kind of a Funny Story could very well be the indie comedy that is contractually obligated to come out every year since Little Miss Sunshine had so much success. That’s not a knock on the film which features Zack Galifiniakis and is directed by Half Nelson helmers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. In fact, the trailer makes the movie look like a creative, sweet march down the insane asylum. Plus, you should watch it just to get Zack Galifianakis’s advise on picking up chicks.

Welcome to Print to Projector, where we feign literacy in order to suggest what we’d like to see slapped onto the big screen. This week, we look at a high school mystery of epic proportions.

Can Zach Galifianakis successfully change his image from a crazy slacker to a crazy slacker who is in a mental institution? And, more importantly, will Nurse Ratchet be there?

From the directors of ‘Half Nelson’ comes a slowly paced drama about a Dominican baseball player coming to America.