SIFF ended with a fizzle for me on Saturday May 8th. The screening of DECODING ANNIE PARKER was cut short at the half hour point by a broken projector. (See review further down the page.) Then I saw an obscure, intriguing, odd older film that was beautifully restored, called PORT OF SHADOWS (1938), but the plot was rather bizarre, and the story line seemed stretched out, and frankly, I was so tired at that point that the film left me non plussed by the end. GRADE----C+
So here is a brief listing of my favorite films, in no particular order----and I'll give more info when they open up at theatres later in the year. You can also see some older previous blogs for more info........
These films were rated A or A-
YOU WILL BE MY SON
TEST
HOUSE WITH A TURRET
TRAILS OF MUHAMMAD ALI
FULL CIRCLE
GIRL WITH 9 WIGS
ALICE WALKER; TRUTH IN BEAUTY
STILL MINE
HALIMA'S PATH
A BAND CALLED DEATH
JIN
STORIES WE TELL
AFTER TILLER
WHAT MAISIE KNEW
FRANCES HA
The following were rated B+ and on any given day could replace any of the above in preference.....
THE WALL
LAST I HEARD
MERCY
BEFORE SNOWFALL
IN THE NAME OF...
OUT IN THE DARK
IMAGINE
INEQUALITY FOR ALL
ATRACO!
LADY IN PARIS
IT'S ALL SO QUIET
ARTIST AND MODEL
THE HUNT
WISH YOU WERE HERE
HORSES OF GOD
UNFINISHED SONG
UNHUNG HERO
Here's what I've seen this past 2 weeks--not much new stuff, but still recovering from 117 SIFF films (my lowest total in many years....).........
Now playing regular engagements from SIFF---
Catch WHAT MAISIE KNEW if you can. It is an insightful, fascinating contemporary story based on a novel by Henry James, of a young girl being tossed back and forth between her divorcing, embittered parents, played brilliantly by Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan, with the amazing Onata Aprile as the precocious 6 year old. It really makes you think what kind of adult this child will grow up to be. GRADE-----A-
Also ending a regular run after a SIFF premiere is FRANCES HA, a comic drama from director Noah Baumbach (SQUID AND THE WHALE) that features his wife, Greta Gerwig in the lead. Here is a young woman and struggling dancer trying to grow up to responsible adulthood after college, but she finds the pull of irresponsibility and freedom hard to give up. GRADE----A-
Also featured during SIFF's opening weekend is Canadian actress/director (GO! and AWAY FROM HER) Sarah Polley's docudrama features her family revealing secrets and mysteries about the family past, in the fascinating and surprising STORIES WE TELL. There are some great twists, even up to the final minutes, which will keep you involved. GRADE----A
Opening for probably a brief run is the Australian thriller WISH YOU WERE HERE, which features a great, nervous, guilty looking performance by Joel Edgerton (WARRIOR, ZERO DARK THIRTY, GREAT GATSBY) as a married man with kids who cannot seem to remember details of the disappearance of his sister-in-law's boyfriend when the four of them were on a drug fueled vacation in Cambodia. The mystery is slowly revealed and keeps you intrigued for the duration.
GRADE------B+
Opening also from SIFF is the first segment of a trilogy called PARADISE : LOVE (soon to be followed by PARADISE : FAITH and PARADISE : HOPE, which are all quite different in theme and tone, with only a thin line of similar characters...) This one deals with a German woman on vacation in Kenya buying sex from local beach boys. It is provocative stuff, and lots of flesh (both genders) is on display, as the film tries to show who is the exploiter and the exploited, and often the lines are blurred. It will make you squirm. GRADE------B+
I finally caught up with THE BLING RING, director Sophia Coppola's newest film (it was the closing night feature at SIFF) and I have to say that I found it fascinating, as it tells the real life drama of a bunch of privileged high school kids who break into the homes of the rich and famous and go on "shopping" sprees in their HUGE closets.) Paris Hilton was one of their victims, and she makes a brief appearance as herself in the film--apparently they filmed those sequences in her actual home. The film has attitude, style, and feels quite topical as it explores the relationships and motives behind these young thieves. GRADE----B+
The only non-SIFF film I saw this past week is the science fiction thriller THE PURGE, which has a very gutsy premise that you either accept (and like the film) or reject (and probably hate the film.) I took a leap of faith and swallowed the premise, and really thought there was a lot of challenging ideas floating around. In the near future, there is one night a year where anything goes---murder, violence, robberies---with out police interference, for various purposes, like revenge, getting hatred out of your system, thrills, prejudice--whatever. A young rich family lives in a supposedly well secured community, but when things go wrong (as they are wont to do in films like this,) it becomes a very long night for them, and their relationships towards each other are revealed. There's a bit too much hand held nonsense, but I was engrossed from beginning to end. GRADE------B
I finally saw the make up screening last Sunday for DECODING ANNIE PARKER. The film is being used to raise money for breast cancer research, and comes with commercials (at the beginning) to steer people to get help. I certainly applaud the film makers efforts for the cause. However, as a film, DECODING ANNIE PARKER doesn't make much sense. The film follows Dr. Mary-Claire King (played with plucky determination by Helen Hunt) as she searches over two decades for the clue to the BRCA1 gene which would link generations of women from the same family as passing down the gene to children. Inter cut is the story of Annie Parker (effectively played by Samantha Morton) who struggles with cancer many times in her early thirties. To it's credit, the film is slickly made and acted, and includes a lot of (sometimes sexual) humor, but the intertwining of these stories is not clear (the two women never met in real life, until the Q&A at the first screening at the Egyptian theatre (RIP Egyptian!!!!!!) and the film has no emotional resolution. GRADE----C+
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