Wasteland, Unstoppable, Morning Glory, Boys Are Back

The best documentary at SIFF last May was an amazing film that illustrates how art can affect and possibly change the lives those who make it and view it. In this case, the art can empower the people living at the bottom of society. WASTELAND chronicles Sao Paulo born artist Vic Muniz (now living in Brooklyn) as he goes back to Sao Paulo to a land fill dump, and creates some astonishing works of art out of the garbage that is collected there, with the help of some local garbage collectors and sorters. The film has great emotional power as it shows how subjects become overcome when they realize that even their humble lives can have great beauty and dignity. The film doesn't flinch or sugar coat--there are some tragic ramifications, too, as it raises that decades old question--if you offer a poor, disadvantaged person a way out of the ghetto through art (or acting or a taste of some sort of celebrity, etc.) then how responsible are you to keep them out of poverty? Indeed, how do you keep them out of poverty without supporting them totally? GRADE--------A

UNSTOPPABLE is a runaway train thriller starring Denzel Washington, and it works about as well as this situation can work itself out. Fortunately, the camera work is not as chaotic as other thrillers (the dreadfully jerking camera work drove me crazy in the recent FAIR GAME and BOURNE films) and the actors are all game. It is a popcorn movie--loud enough to drowned out the chomping of kernels, but smart and swift enough to keep most people from feeling the need to chomp in the first place. Satisfyingly and realistically grounded. GRADE-----B

The script is witty and fast, and the leads, especially Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford add some charming gravitas to the familiar story of a young naive girl (a flighty and sweet Rachel McAdams) who gets a dream job as an executive producer for a struggling early early morning TV talk show in NYC and struggles to raise it up in the ratings. The film, MORNING GLORY actually gets better at the half way mark, when she tries to convince the higher executives and her cranky co-hosts (Keaton and Ford) to try to lighten up and stop taking things so seriously, and there is a lot of humor in seeing these old pros try to be civil while acting like fools for the cameras. We do know where it is all headed, however, but it is an easy watch.
GRADE-------B-

The remaining films of the week are all from the public library's DVD collection. Released just last year, THE BOYS ARE BACK (2009)stars Clive Owen and was directed by Australian Scott Hicks who created the wonderful SHINE over 10 years ago. Based on a true story and book, the film creates a world where a widowed man must build a relationship with his young son after the death of his wife and then also with his older teen son who lives in England with his ex-wife. He does this by giving them a lot of freedom, and things don't always go very well. There is a strong sense of sadness and grieving in the early part of the film, but the film centers on the love and humanity of this damaged family, and transcends the circumstances of losing a loved one. The two sons are played with extraordinary skill by two unknowns and the film looks gorgeous, with beautiful scenery of southern Australia. The music is moving and technically this is one quality movie-- an under appreciated GEM...... GRADE-------A-

Samuel Fuller's NAKED KISS (1964) is a lucid, sometimes lurid melodrama of an ex-prostitute who is trying to go good in a new small town, but of course, many folks, especially the town cop who beds her when she first arrives, think she can never change. The opening scene is most memorable, as a bald woman pummels a drunken man unconscious with a very large and heavy purse. This is our first glimpse of the heroine, played with striking authority by Constance Towers, who reminds me a great deal in this film of the beautiful,icy cold but humane presence of Tippi Hedren (THE BIRDS and MARNIE). Towers has appeared on quite a number of TV shows over the years (including Perry Mason, Young and the Restless and Frasier just to name a few, and currently she's a regular on General Hospital) but this film and Fuller's SHOCK CORRIDOR (1963) are her most memorable films. She is so watchable and likable in this potboiler that it is a shame she hasn't made it bigger in movies. This is the performance of her life and she will mesmerize you. GRADE------B+

The British spy thriller THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM (1966) reminds me of other classy, down and dirty (and subtle) spy films from mostly the 1960's which include IPCRESS FILE, FUNERAL IN BERLIN (both with a young Michael Caine as spy Harry Palmer), and THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD and others, which were sort of an antidote from the glossy, noisy Ian Fleming/James Bond extravagances. George Segal is in Berlin trying to find the headquarters of the continuing neo-Nazi presence of this post WWII city, and a dashing Max Von Sydow is his nemesis, with Senta Berger and Alec Guiness in support. Intriguing, if a bit underwhelming, with an economical script by Harold Pinter. GRADE-----B.

SIFF Report May 24th--27th

Looking for some good films this Memorial Day Weekend???--Here's a quick list of great films playing this long weekend--------I AM LOVE, THE CONCERT, WASTE LAND, FARSAN, TOPP TWINS-UNTOUCHABLE GIRLS, WINTER'S BONE, THE HEDGEHOG, LETTERS TO FATHER JACOB, MAO'S LAST DANCER, CAIRO TIME, ME TOO (YO TAMIEN), WHEN WE LEAVE, JOAN RIVERS-A PIECE OF WORK----these all received a grade of B or better--see above and below for more options and information.......


GRADE---A

CHILDREN OF DIYARBAKIR--(Turkey)--Excellent story of young children whose parents are killed and end up being thrown out onto the streets to live with other parentless children. Heart wrenching and thrillingly made.

WASTE LAND--(United Kingdom)--Thought provoking and moving documentary on artist who creates art/portraits of working class people by using objects from the subject's life--in this case garbage collectors of Brazil.
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GRADE---A-

HIDEAWAY (AKA The Refuge)--(France)--Francois Ozon's new film about the unlikely friendship of a pregnant heroin addict and her dead boyfriend's gay brother.
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GRADE---B+

ME TOO (YO TAMBIEN)--(Spain)--A smart man with Downs Syndrome falls for a "damaged" woman who has never been loved--it's a mature and thoughtful film.

THE TILLMAN STORY--(USA)--Solid and informative documentary on football star Pat Tillman who gave up a promising career in sports to join the Army, but then was killed due to friendly fire, which the US government tried to suppress.

SOME DAYS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS--(USA)--Moody and intimate low budget project filmed in Portland Oregon and the coast about low income workers struggling with loneliness.

STIGMATA--(Spain)--Like the definition of "stigmata," audiences will super-impose their feelings and opinions of the brutish man whose hands keep bleeding towards their reaction to this fascinating black and white wonder. Definitely a one-of-a-kind film.
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GRADE ---B

CAIRO TIME--(CANADA)--A less majestic version of I AM LOVE, but the acting (by Patricia Clarkson) and the Cairo setting (with glorious photography and lovely music) all cast a spell.

JOAN RIVERS--A PIECE OF WORK--(USA)--Love her or hate her, this year in the life documentary (including her amazing work on last year's CELEBRITY APPRENTICE) is very funny and entertaining.

CHERRY--(USA)--Nearly refreshingly free of silly college-comedy slapstick, this earnest dramedy feels accurate and personal as it explores the freshman year of very smart, shy student who develops a crush on an older woman and her teenage daughter.

STOLEN--(Australia)--Documentary about a filmed family reunion in a Saharan refugee camp that turns into a highly charged expose of modern slavery and inherent racism in Northern Africa.

THE OWLS--(USA)--A nervy, experimental film about Older Wiser Lesbians, but are they really Wiser??????? The film tries to cover some new sexual identity issues in different ways, but the ending is an abrupt let-down.

DRIFTING--(Spain)--The "heroine"--a U.N. type worker who seems to be suffering from post traumatic syndrome when she returns home from war-torn Africa, makes a lot of bad choices (including much sex and nudity with a "client") as she "drifts" through her life.
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GRADE----B-

MARWENCOL--(USA)--An alcoholic man who survives a serious beating photographs and displays World War 2 tableau's using GI Joe and Barbie dolls as his therapy to great artistic success, but is it art??? The current film EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (see previous blog) is a better and more entertaining exploration of this subject, but this does maintain interest.

ANGEL AT SEA--(Belgium)--Tiresome and frustrating due to suicidal depression subject matter (father imposes his secret desire to commit suicide to his 12 year old son, who tries to become his guardian angel)--this film is not likable, but I've found it to be haunting.

CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH--(China)--Depicting the Rape of Nanking by the Japanese in 1937, the film piles on scene after scene after scene of wartime violence and atrocities, and the total effect is numbness, no matter how well made or artfully directed. This is one grim film--(see also ANGEL AT SEA above.)
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GRADE---C+

CRAB TRAP--(Columbia)--Scenes of garbage on the beautiful remote beach dull the effect of a newcomer in a small village on the run from---what? Too many unanswered questions.

NIGHT CATCHES US--(USA)--Nice try, as low budget film tries to capture the anger and drama of ex Black Panthers in the late 1970's trying to live down the past.

THE OATH--(USA)-- Mostly dry, dull, double-talking heads about two brothers in law who may have been involved in varying degrees with the 9/11 attacks.
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GRADE -- C-

IMANI--(Uganda)--Three different stories never mesh and all end abruptly without resolution (or sense) in disappointingly ambitious Uganda film.

FROM BEGINNING TO END--(Brazil)--Two step brothers develop a sexual relationship in a simplistic and dreadfully melodramatic film that is drowned out by a trite and obnoxious film score. I give a C minus for the fact that the film (and sometimes nude actors) looked good. Note: I give all films an extra half a grade for quality nudity and sex! See DRIFTING above.