Playing to an oversold house at SIFF, the new film which opens today nationwide PEOPLE LIKE US is an anomoly for the summer months--a serious drama about discovering that you have a relative that you've never known. Based on a true story, director Alex Kurtzman wrote about discovering he had a half sister when he was thirty. The film is well acted (by Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer and new-comer Michael Hall D'Addario) and delivers some lovely dramatic moments as it manuevers through the thorny issues that often come with discovering an instant relative or family member. It may not be Chekov, but in July when most theatres are playing sequels and bombastic science fiction thrillers, it's a wonderful and moving alternative. GRADE-------B+
Also from SIFF is a French thriller about a Child Protection Unit called POLISSE. Considering the subject matter, the film is surprisingly funny and at times even light hearted as an intrepid group of cops track down and question possible child molester, pediphiles, incompentent parents, peeping Tom's, neglectful adults, and other who never learned respect for children. The film also delves into the personal lives of these cops, and shows how taxing it can be to deal with such criminals on a daily basis. It plays a lot like an extended HILL STREET BLUES, where the station is filled with anguish, criminals, pranksters and drama. GRADE---------B+
I wrote about MOONRISE KINGDOM earlier--a perfect little concoction by Wes Anderson that creates it's own little world out of two 12 year old runaways. Also still playing from SIFF is the engaging and funny "based on a true story" from France called THE INTOUCHABLES, about a rich, white parapalegic being cared for by a poor Senagalese man from the slums of Paris--yet the film is very, very funny. Also from SIFF is SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, a local Seattle based production that starts off rough and slow, but builds to an engaging and satisfying relationship comedy drama featuring a slightly deranged man (Mark Duplass) who may or may not be able to travel through time. It's a very pleasing surprise. MOONRISE KINGDOM---GRADE----A,
THE INTOUCHABLES---GRADE----A-, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED---GRADE----B
My first after SIFF mainstream film was MADAGASCAR 3. It's clever, fast paced, character based animation with a lot of cultural in-jokes, most which fly over most children's head, and I must confess that many flew over my head, too. Several times I found myself laughing (or at least gawfawing) at a joke that was 15 seconds old. It is exhausing to watch such a fast and furious and silly work, but the jokes keep coming, the penguins are still mean and funny, and there are worse ways to waste 90 minutes. GRADE--------B
I saw the Broadway stage production (in Seattle) last year of ROCK OF AGES, and if you like rock music from the mid 1980's then this is the film for you. Otherwise, you should be able to appreciate the clever direction by Adam Shankman (HAIRSPRAY) that really pokes fun at the hard rock mileau inspite of the cliches that are (rightly) skewered. Tom Cruise has some fun (and looks pretty buff) as the over the top rock god that causes women to drop (literally) at his feet. Russell Brand and Alex Baldwin keep their tongues in cheek as the oh so close buddies who manage the infamous rock venue, and Catherine Zeta-Jones and Mary J. Blige provide some fun and dramatic, respectively, support to the cast, which includes two likeable young lovers struggling to make it in the Los Angeles music scene. I thought this was an improvement on the stage production, and some good, infectious fun. GRADE----------B
DVD CHOICES-----------------
A Bette Davis film that I thought I'd seen before, proved to be a fine melodrama that I'd only seen parts of before. NOW VOYAGER (1942) has Davis in her finest, spinster mode. She's brought out of her shell by psychiatrist Claude Rains, then meets married man Paul Henreid on a cruise and falls in love with the unattainable. She later meets his disturbed daughter and, in a rather bizarre effort to remain close to her ex-lover, "adopts" his teen daughter to help her grow into womanhood. There are a number of memorable scenes, including the occasional lighting of two cigarettes by Henreid, and of course the closing line is "Why shoot for the moon when we have the stars." GRADE----------B+
Tennessee Williams play PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT (1962) made a fine movie for a very young Jane Fonda, who along with Tony Franciosa, Jim Hutton and Lois Nettleton create a touching portrait of a newlywed marriage compared to a five year marriage on the rocks. Not all the laughs work, and the static action in the second half is limited mostly to a living room, but the characters are strong and tender and memorable. GRADE----------B
Another Fonda, Henry, is not quite as successful in the sprawling epic version of Tolstoy's WAR AND PEACE (1956), directed by King Vidor. Audrey Hepburn is quite fetching as Natasha--she's easy to watch and lovely to look at. Mel Ferrer has some fine moments, and Vittorio Gassman is dashing as the dangerous man who nearly ruins Natasha's life. Although Fonda tries gamely, he seems miscast as the anti-war intellectual who holds a long smouldering love for Natasha. The production values are OK, but the long long (nearly 4 hour) film is mostly engrossing because of the plot devices. The costumes (including some very "gay" looking short waisted capes trimmed with fur worn with very tight form fitting pants for officers) and set designs (where some serious and authentic antiques were on display) were the strongest elements for me. GRADE-------C+
Disney's THE ARISTOCATS (1970) was modestly amusing--an animated feature about cats in peril in Paris. Eva Gabor scores strongest as the voice of the mother cat trying to protect her kittens from the elements. I thought it strange that their father is never mentioned, but she is happy to seduce an alley cat named O'Malley very quickly! GRADE------C
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SIFF 2012 is two weeks past. Here are the results of the FOOL SERIOUS poll---FOOL SERIOUS are the full series pass holders--those film goers who see an average of about 80 films during the Festival. This year I rated 126, but one of those films was a 15 hour experience (shown in 5 three hour segments) called STORY OF FILM: An Odyssey, so I probably saw the equivelent of over 130 films. Top vote getters for the FOOL SERIOUS Awards are:
TOP FILMS:
THE INTOUCHABLES
BREATHING
MOONRISE KINGDOM
REBELLION
XINGU
RED ROAD
INNOCENCE
EDEN
Secret Festival #2
TOP DOCUMENTARIES:
THE OTHER DREAM TEAM
MARINA ABRAMOVIC: The Artist is Present
CHASING ICE
STORY OF FILM: An Odyssey
TOP ARCHIVAL PRESENTATIONS:
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
BADLANDS
STORY OF FILM; An Odyssey
COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER
BEST:
BEST DIRECTOR: BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
" CINEMATOGRAPHER: tie--CHASING ICE< MOONRISE KINGDOM< WINTER NOMADS
" SCRIPT: THE INTOUCHABLES
" MUSIC: EL GUSTO: The Good Mood
" ACTOR: ALAN CUMMINGS in ANY DAY NOW
" ACTRESS: QUVENZHANE WALLIS (newcomer child)in BEASTS OF SOUTHERN WILD
" GUILTY PLEASURE: REMINGTON AND CURSE OF ZOMBADINGS (!)
LEAST LIKED:
MOST FUN I'VE EVER HAD W PANTS ON
Secret 2012 #3
HAIL
V/H/S
419
HEMEL
DAAS
L
THE CONVOY
WUTHERING HEIGHTS
SEE MY PREVIOUS BLOG FOR MY PERSONAL FAVORITES!
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