SIFF is now in full swing. Here's what I've been viewing.
STORIES WE TELL---Canadian actress/director (AWAY FROM HER) Sarah Polley's newest film is a docudrama about her own family history, which provides more secrets than you can imagine, and they keep coming, right up to the end, in this warm, surprising, intelligent film. GRADE-----A-
MIDDLETON---a familiar US comedy, with two middle aged parents meeting cute at a college campus (beautifully filmed at Gonzaga University in Washington state) after bringing their respective kids for a "visit the campus/faculty" day, and naturally, they start to fall in love. Vera Farmiga and Andy Garcia are both charming, and the rest of the cast, including the kids (Farmiga's kid sister plays her daughter) and other staff (including Tom Skerrit and Peter Riegert) all have their moments. If this is your thing, then you will enjoy this film. GRADE-------B-
Gothic vampire melodrama, BYZANTIUM is British director Neil Jordan's return to the subject matter after a nearly 20 year break (INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE 1994)---in the mean time he has made some great films (END OF THE AFFAIR 1999, MICHAEL COLLINS 1996) and he won a writing OSCAR for THE CRYING GAME 1992. This new film looks great, and has an unusual twist--the main characters are women, one a perpetual 16 year old virgin and her mother, who was a harlot when she was transformed. The story is complex and interesting, the effects are creepy, and the production is stylish. For those interested in such films, BYZANTIUM is a thrill. GRADE-------B
BEFORE SNOWFALL is a film coming from Norway and Germany, but telling the story of a young Kurdish Iraqi who is trying to track down his runaway sister, and he plans to kill her because she has "dishonored" his family by avoiding a forced marriage to a rich villager. As he follows her to Germany and then to Norway, he meets some interesting people and finds love himself. The film is suspenseful and intense and the ending--not what you might expect-- is harrowing. GRADE---B+
INTERIOR. LEATHER BAR is actor James Franco's experimental film about trying to recreate the missing 45 minutes of sex scenes cut from the controversial William Freidkin film CRUISING (1980) which featured Al Pacino as an undercover cop looking for a homosexual serial killer. This vanity production is trying to make the point that straight people (the actor portraying Pacino is a dead ringer and quite effective in a "deer in the headlights" situation) have a prejudicial aversion to gay sex and characters. The film includes sex and nudity and lots of discussion. The effect is an uneasy mixture of exploitation (his lead is fascinatingly exploited) and "WHAT THE HELL" moments. Better luck next time, James. GRADE------C+
KEY OF LIFE from Japan is an amusing comedy of mistaken identity involving a hit man with amnesia, a suicidal unemployed actor, and a woman seeking to get married within her vacation month, but first she has to meet the right man. It's wacky and clever at times. GRADE ----B
PIETA is a Korean "extreme" film, very violent and nasty, about a man who works in collections for a loan shark He cripples those who cannot pay back loans, so that they get insurance money to then pay him back. Early in the film a strange woman enters his life claiming to be his mother who deserted him at birth. She puts up with his hatred and indignities, and slowly he begins to change.
It's a depressing, disgusting film to watch at times, but it's hard to turn away, and will probably linger in my mind for far to long. GRADE-------B
YELLOW--Director Nick Cassavetes over the top, bizarre film about a far to sexually glamorous substitute teacher who is addicted to pain killers (she's continually popping) and sex (group sex and sex with a dad during parent's night!). She finally returns to her rural home to confront a cesspool of family problems and insanity situations. The film breaks into songs, animation, satire, drama, comedy and pathetic mind trips indiscriminately. It's a messy film, but much like watching a train wreck---hard to look away. GRADE-------B-
MY DOG KILLER is from Czech Republic. A day in the miserable life of 18 year old Marek, who has his father and skin head friends all yelling and bossing him around, and his pit bull dog constantly barking, as he goes about his business. Unfortunately, the camera work is rather busy, and their are long long tracking shots of the back of his head as he walks through a vineyard, or down a street. If the lazy do nothing shots were removed, this would be a short 15 minute feature. GRADE---C+
THE PUNK SINGER is a documentary about punk grrll rocker and pioneer Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre) and it is well made and informative. GRADE----B
Fine Norwegian film MERCY concerns a tragic accident and how it affects the marriage of the main characters as well as the small town they live in. Thoughtful and beautifully filmed, but could have used a little trimming in length. GRADE-----B+
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
SIFF Screenings---SIFF begins TODAY!!!
In an effort to stay current, I'll try to briefly review all films I'm seeing at SIFF at least twice a week, probably on Mondays and Thursdays. Since many are advance press screenings before appearing on the regular schedule, this might hopefully give SIFF goers a heads up on what to see or avoid.
From Austria comes the intriguing THE WALL, symbolical metaphor for ---life, politics, humanity, God...!!!???? A woman finds she cannot get past an invisible wall in the forest and must learn to live with animals and herself in order to survive. GRADE-----B+
US documentary FUREVER deals with the lengths that people will go to to keep their pet animals close to them, even after they have died. These include, but are not limited to Freeze dried, stuffed, mummified, encapsulating DNA in jewelry or art, holograms, and many many other actions. Mortality and grief are also covered in this occasionally moving, often funny, always lively film about our relationship with our pet dogs and cats. GRADE-------B
THE SUMMIT tells of the 2008 mountaineering tragedy that claimed the lives of 11 climbers from different countries as they tried to scale K2. There are interviews, filmed footage and some eerie reenactments of events to tell the harrowing story. The film raises questions and leaves many of them unanswered. Still, fascinating viewing. GRADE------B
AFTER TILLER is a US documentary of life after the murder of Dr. George Tiller, one of only a handful of physicians who continue to perform late term abortions. It's a controversial, thought provoking, sad documentary, but however you feel on the subject, it is riveting viewing. GRADE---------A-
ERNEST & CELESTINE is a French animated film, geared for sophisticated children and interested adults, with whimsical, impressionistic anime, lovely music, and a challenging plot having to do with a world where bears live above ground, and mice below, but they learn to tolerate and love each other through the relationship between Ernest a crabby, grumpy bear and the artistic Celestine, a sweet, adventurous mouse who only wants to collect teeth (!) and live her life making Ernest happy. GRADE---------B
THE AFRICAN CYPHER chronicles a dozen young street dancers from the slums of a South African township who see street dancing as a way out of their struggles. Lot's of dancing, which is very choreographed and lots of music, but this felt like very familiar stuff. Twenty years ago in the slums of major US cities, youngsters did their "break dancing" and held similar views of freedom and life--all with the same macho posturing and bloated egos. See it only if interested. GRADE----C
------SOOOO, heading into the first weekend, I'd highly recommend the following films, rated B or better------WE STEAL SECRETS: STORY OF WIKILEAKS, 5 DANCES, CONCUSSION, GOLTZIUS and the PELICAN COMPANY, FRANCES HA, DOCH (THE DAUGHTER), and WHAT MAISIE KNEW, and ERNEST & CELESTINE See previous blogs for more details.
Coming this Monday--Thursday, I'd highly suggest the PARADISE trilogy (PARADISE LOVE, PARADISE FAITH and PARADISE HOPE) which play separately TUE, WED and THUR night, respectively, and repeat all in a row starting early next Saturday 5/25. Also playing mid week are UNA NOCHE and AUGUSTINE. (Again, refer to earlier blogs for more details.)
From Austria comes the intriguing THE WALL, symbolical metaphor for ---life, politics, humanity, God...!!!???? A woman finds she cannot get past an invisible wall in the forest and must learn to live with animals and herself in order to survive. GRADE-----B+
US documentary FUREVER deals with the lengths that people will go to to keep their pet animals close to them, even after they have died. These include, but are not limited to Freeze dried, stuffed, mummified, encapsulating DNA in jewelry or art, holograms, and many many other actions. Mortality and grief are also covered in this occasionally moving, often funny, always lively film about our relationship with our pet dogs and cats. GRADE-------B
THE SUMMIT tells of the 2008 mountaineering tragedy that claimed the lives of 11 climbers from different countries as they tried to scale K2. There are interviews, filmed footage and some eerie reenactments of events to tell the harrowing story. The film raises questions and leaves many of them unanswered. Still, fascinating viewing. GRADE------B
AFTER TILLER is a US documentary of life after the murder of Dr. George Tiller, one of only a handful of physicians who continue to perform late term abortions. It's a controversial, thought provoking, sad documentary, but however you feel on the subject, it is riveting viewing. GRADE---------A-
ERNEST & CELESTINE is a French animated film, geared for sophisticated children and interested adults, with whimsical, impressionistic anime, lovely music, and a challenging plot having to do with a world where bears live above ground, and mice below, but they learn to tolerate and love each other through the relationship between Ernest a crabby, grumpy bear and the artistic Celestine, a sweet, adventurous mouse who only wants to collect teeth (!) and live her life making Ernest happy. GRADE---------B
THE AFRICAN CYPHER chronicles a dozen young street dancers from the slums of a South African township who see street dancing as a way out of their struggles. Lot's of dancing, which is very choreographed and lots of music, but this felt like very familiar stuff. Twenty years ago in the slums of major US cities, youngsters did their "break dancing" and held similar views of freedom and life--all with the same macho posturing and bloated egos. See it only if interested. GRADE----C
------SOOOO, heading into the first weekend, I'd highly recommend the following films, rated B or better------WE STEAL SECRETS: STORY OF WIKILEAKS, 5 DANCES, CONCUSSION, GOLTZIUS and the PELICAN COMPANY, FRANCES HA, DOCH (THE DAUGHTER), and WHAT MAISIE KNEW, and ERNEST & CELESTINE See previous blogs for more details.
Coming this Monday--Thursday, I'd highly suggest the PARADISE trilogy (PARADISE LOVE, PARADISE FAITH and PARADISE HOPE) which play separately TUE, WED and THUR night, respectively, and repeat all in a row starting early next Saturday 5/25. Also playing mid week are UNA NOCHE and AUGUSTINE. (Again, refer to earlier blogs for more details.)
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Seattle International Film Festival screenings--week 2 and part of 3
SIFF screenings are coming fast and furious. Here's some films to see or to avoid. Check the free program guide at box offices or Starbucks for show times and dates. Thursday 16 May is OPENING NIGHT!
SHORT TERM 12---a very low budget US film about a young woman who counsels at a home for disturbed teens. She has plenty of problems of her own, but she has a pretty good head and handle on them. Engrossing and surprisingly well acted, dealing sensitively and intelligently with a variety of issues, mostly abuse and abandonment. GRADE-----A-
AFTER WINTER, SPRING---French documentary about a year in the life of small farms and the farmers trying to deal with environment issues and modern challenges. GRADE-----B-
WHAT MAISIE KNEW--US film with amazing performances by the entire cast, especially Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan as self absorbed parents going through a nasty divorce, shuttling their 6 year old daughter (a fascinating Onata Aprile) insensitively between themselves and various new younger spouses---and this is mostly all from the child's POV! GRADE-----B+
DIRTY WARS---US documentary about covert wars sponsored by the US government without concern for human rights, featuring investigative reporting by Jeremy Scahill. Thoughtful, low key and effective. GRADE-----B+
PIT STOP---Low budget drama of several small town Texas gay men searching for love--it starts slow and dull (probably like life itself) but builds to an effective and moving finale. GRADE----B-
UNA NOCHE---Lively Cuban film showing relationship between twin brother and sister and the man who comes between them, as they prepare to escape Havana for Miami via the 90 miles of ocean on a raft. Sexy and easy to watch, though the busy camera work is annoying at times. GRADE---B
MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS---Supposedly about a musical tour of the band THE NATIONAL, the film becomes more a vanity production about the film maker brother of the band's lead singer Matt Berninger. Director Tom Berninger is self indulgent, sometimes incompetent and often annoying, but there's a strange fascination here, especially when the film explores family relationships. It's a love it or hate it proposition, and I wish it had more music! GRADE-----C+
LASTING----Feels like an everlasting psycho drama of young love from Poland. The affair starts out well, but turns to dithering and hysteria and who cares by the end. GRADE------C
CAMION--French Canadian film is well made, but slow and plodding. Nap time. GRADE---C+
FIVE DANCES---Lots of dance and music makes this small indie film palatable--five dancers become involved with each other--centering on a very young male dancer "coming out." GRADE----B
CONCUSSION--Wealthy, suburban, lesbian housewife becomes a prostitute after a baseball smacks her head. This is played completely straight (no pun) without any humor or satire. Watchable, but I was hoping for some satire or comedy or punch. GRADE-----B
GOLTZIUS AND THE PELICAN COMPANY---Peter Greenaway is up to his old tricks, with eye popping sets, costumes and sexual shenanigans. Lots and lots of sexual talk and full frontal nudity, enjoyable for it's audacity and provocative themes and dialogue and photography. GRADE------B
PAPADOPOULOS & SONS---When a rich business man loses his fortune in a market downturn, he is forced to start over with his eccentric estranged brother in a fish and chips cafe, much to the chagrin of his three children. It's supposedly a comedy, but the film turns into a fish out of water drama about learning to love life, and it moves carefully (and slowly) to it's moving conclusion--- likable characters, but not much of a surprise here. GRADE----B-
YOUTH--Poignant French film about a young 20 year old girl trying to deal with university, her first love with a new found boy friend, and the impending death of her father. GRADE-----B-
AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS--An odd title for a moody, stylish film about a young woman trying to raise a daughter by herself, while her lover is imprisoned. Tension mounts when he escapes and tries to contact her. A good cast (Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Keith Carradine) in a curious film that raises a lot of unanswered questions. GRADE-----B-
AUGUSTINE--French period drama about a young woman's (sexual)"hysteria" and treatment by doctor in a hospital filled with women, run by all male doctors. It is a slick production, raising a number of questions and comments afterward. GRADE----B
THE SPECTACULAR NOW--Modest US film about a good girl who meets up with a bad party boy in high school and they fall in love. The two leads are excellent (Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley) as is the rest of the cast. It captures the challenges of a senior year, the expectations and disappointments, and the struggle to live life in your own way without being poorly influenced. GRADE-------B+
ANITA---Well made US documentary about the shocking Anita Hill vs Clarence Thomas Senate hearings in 1991, and the effect that had on Anita Hill's life and the powerful influence she has had in the discussions of sexual harassment since then. GRADE------A-
SHORT TERM 12---a very low budget US film about a young woman who counsels at a home for disturbed teens. She has plenty of problems of her own, but she has a pretty good head and handle on them. Engrossing and surprisingly well acted, dealing sensitively and intelligently with a variety of issues, mostly abuse and abandonment. GRADE-----A-
AFTER WINTER, SPRING---French documentary about a year in the life of small farms and the farmers trying to deal with environment issues and modern challenges. GRADE-----B-
WHAT MAISIE KNEW--US film with amazing performances by the entire cast, especially Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan as self absorbed parents going through a nasty divorce, shuttling their 6 year old daughter (a fascinating Onata Aprile) insensitively between themselves and various new younger spouses---and this is mostly all from the child's POV! GRADE-----B+
DIRTY WARS---US documentary about covert wars sponsored by the US government without concern for human rights, featuring investigative reporting by Jeremy Scahill. Thoughtful, low key and effective. GRADE-----B+
PIT STOP---Low budget drama of several small town Texas gay men searching for love--it starts slow and dull (probably like life itself) but builds to an effective and moving finale. GRADE----B-
UNA NOCHE---Lively Cuban film showing relationship between twin brother and sister and the man who comes between them, as they prepare to escape Havana for Miami via the 90 miles of ocean on a raft. Sexy and easy to watch, though the busy camera work is annoying at times. GRADE---B
MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS---Supposedly about a musical tour of the band THE NATIONAL, the film becomes more a vanity production about the film maker brother of the band's lead singer Matt Berninger. Director Tom Berninger is self indulgent, sometimes incompetent and often annoying, but there's a strange fascination here, especially when the film explores family relationships. It's a love it or hate it proposition, and I wish it had more music! GRADE-----C+
LASTING----Feels like an everlasting psycho drama of young love from Poland. The affair starts out well, but turns to dithering and hysteria and who cares by the end. GRADE------C
CAMION--French Canadian film is well made, but slow and plodding. Nap time. GRADE---C+
FIVE DANCES---Lots of dance and music makes this small indie film palatable--five dancers become involved with each other--centering on a very young male dancer "coming out." GRADE----B
CONCUSSION--Wealthy, suburban, lesbian housewife becomes a prostitute after a baseball smacks her head. This is played completely straight (no pun) without any humor or satire. Watchable, but I was hoping for some satire or comedy or punch. GRADE-----B
GOLTZIUS AND THE PELICAN COMPANY---Peter Greenaway is up to his old tricks, with eye popping sets, costumes and sexual shenanigans. Lots and lots of sexual talk and full frontal nudity, enjoyable for it's audacity and provocative themes and dialogue and photography. GRADE------B
PAPADOPOULOS & SONS---When a rich business man loses his fortune in a market downturn, he is forced to start over with his eccentric estranged brother in a fish and chips cafe, much to the chagrin of his three children. It's supposedly a comedy, but the film turns into a fish out of water drama about learning to love life, and it moves carefully (and slowly) to it's moving conclusion--- likable characters, but not much of a surprise here. GRADE----B-
YOUTH--Poignant French film about a young 20 year old girl trying to deal with university, her first love with a new found boy friend, and the impending death of her father. GRADE-----B-
AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS--An odd title for a moody, stylish film about a young woman trying to raise a daughter by herself, while her lover is imprisoned. Tension mounts when he escapes and tries to contact her. A good cast (Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Keith Carradine) in a curious film that raises a lot of unanswered questions. GRADE-----B-
AUGUSTINE--French period drama about a young woman's (sexual)"hysteria" and treatment by doctor in a hospital filled with women, run by all male doctors. It is a slick production, raising a number of questions and comments afterward. GRADE----B
THE SPECTACULAR NOW--Modest US film about a good girl who meets up with a bad party boy in high school and they fall in love. The two leads are excellent (Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley) as is the rest of the cast. It captures the challenges of a senior year, the expectations and disappointments, and the struggle to live life in your own way without being poorly influenced. GRADE-------B+
ANITA---Well made US documentary about the shocking Anita Hill vs Clarence Thomas Senate hearings in 1991, and the effect that had on Anita Hill's life and the powerful influence she has had in the discussions of sexual harassment since then. GRADE------A-
Saturday, May 4, 2013
MUD, IRON MAN 3, COMPANY YOU KEEP, ANGELS' SHARE, SOURCE FAMILY, EDEN plus SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS begin
I haven't seen a Matthew McConaughey film for a long time--I've put him in the stack along with Nicholas Cage and John Travolta as actors that really rub me the wrong way, usually having to do with their arrogance and weird energy. But I did catch up with THE LINCOLN LAWYER a couple years ago and thought that was pretty good. MUD is a new film by Jeff Nichols, whose previous films include SHOTGUN STORIES and TAKE SHELTER, neither of which I've seen. I will have to remedy that soon. McConaughey plays the title character MUD with bad teeth, wild hair, and simple Southern drawl, and the rest of the excellent supporting cast (Sam Shepard, Sarah Paulson, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Shannon, Joe Don Baker, and especially the two young boys Ty Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) really add such fine characterizations that watching this new classic is a thrilling experience. As the story unfolds (Mud is a killer on the run, trying to hook up with his true love, and becomes involved with the young boys who act as his interns and go-between) you realize that not only is this an original and assured tale, but you cannot really predict what each character is going to do or say from moment to moment, and that adds considerable tension to the drama. As the boys learn about life and adulthood and love the hard way, you can't help but be reminded of classic films like LIFE OF PI, WIZARD OF OZ, GREAT EXPECTATIONS and especially TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. GRADE------A
As a character study of a religious megalomaniac, THE SOURCE FAMILY is a document that is hard to beat. Set in the hippie-trippie 60's, it tells the true story of a fascinating, charismatic man who starts a free love religion (it's mostly free for him---the other guys get the left overs) but ultimately self destructs with too much power. It is a very insightful and entertaining film. GRADE-----B+
I'm very glad that the new Ken Loach film ANGELS' SHARE came with subtitles, because the film about a troubled youth and his friends trying to get redeemed by studying the subtitles of whiskey making and drinking in and around Glasgow has some really strong dialects and accents to sort through. It is still a lovely, humorous film, with great spirit and generous themes of friendship. GRADE-------B
I enjoyed IRON MAN but never bothered with IRON MAN 2 because of very negative comments by friends and critics. Good news for lovers of the series. IRON MAN 3 seems to have been revived by last years film THE AVENGERS---this new IM3 is very funny, has a lot of action (although sometimes it didn't make a lot of logical sense) and moves along like a runaway train. I had fun with it in spite of some serious lapses. Summer popcorn fun. GRADE--------B
Filled with great actors keeping it real, THE COMPANY YOU KEEP keeps the tension going as a group of underground student radicals, now in their 60's (including Robert Redford, Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott, etc., are practically forced out into the public, while a smart ass young news reporter (Shia LeBeouf) indifferently hunts them down, oblivious to the human and political ramifications that each character carries. It's a thoughtful and well meaning story, and the film has an unusual and reflective quality to it. GRADE---------B
Locally produced and directed, Megan Griffiths film EDEN is based on a true story of a young Korean-American teen who is kidnapped in Arizona and forced into human sexual trade. Parts of Washington state were used for Arizona--I didn't notice the difference. The good thing about this film is the subtle way the action is portrayed, without explicitness or luridity. The focus is on the characters, and the girl's efforts to escape the corrupt clutches of the small town's big wigs. Engrossing and thoughtful. GRADE-------B
___________________
On DVD I watched a four hour British drama called BEHAVING BADLY (1988) with Judi Dench as a middle aged divorcee who starts to change her behavior because she is bored, and takes a younger lover, much to the distress of her adult daughter and ex husband. Unfortunately, the film is rather dull when it should have been lively and naughty. GRADE--------C
______________________
The SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (SIFF) screenings began this past week--check the free program guide for scheduled show times. Here is what to watch for or watch out for.....
Engrossing true story, THE DEEP suffers from mostly being filmed in the fog, at night, in the water--so my eyes were very strained from trying to see what was going on. GRADE---B-
From filmmaker Noah (SQUID AND THE WHALE) Baumbach comes a Woody Allenish comedy drama of a 20-something trying to make it in NYC, with the charming Greta Gerwig. I loved FRANCES HA, but many felt the opposite of me. GRADE---B+
Documentary lite, filmed using home movies (and we know how much fun those can be....) this film from the 3 White House conspirators captured OUR NIXON, but not very deeply. There is one great scene where Nixon introduces an innocuous singing group (Ray Conniff Singers???) only to have the lead sing pull out a banner, and berate Nixon for badmouthing Daniel Ellsworth's attempt to
release those damning files, and then they launch into a forgettable tune. GRADE----C+
A true "festival" film, from Russia, about a sect of women dealing with sex, marriage, and mysticism. I had no idea some of the time what was going on in CELESTIAL WIVES OF MEADOW MARI, but it's filmed beautifully and it's so odd and wonderful at times that you don't mind. GRADE-----A-
I was instantly annoyed by the characters, improvisation, and herky jerky giggly camera work, and that feeling didn't change throughout this story of young hipsters looking for a cactus induced high on the beach. It's called CRYSTAL FAIRY---you've been warned. GRADE-----D
Irish film JUMP is slick and well acted, but it felt like a poor man's Guy Ritchie film. GRADE---C+
Russian film THE DAUGHTER (I KORI) is very strong, engrossing film of serial killer in small village. GRADE------B+
WE STEAL SECRETS: STORY OF WIKILEAKS---a fascinating documentary featuring Wikileaks leader Julian Assange and Army Private Bradley Manning, who released a lot of military secrets.
GRADE-----A-
C.O.G---based on writings from David Sedaris, the film is OK--feels a bit underdeveloped, but still easy to watch and has a few laughs, as "David/Samuel" tries to live the life of an apple picker to gain some knowledge of the simple folk. GRADE-----B-
***PARADISE: LOVE is the strongest and most controversial of the Ulrich Seidl trilogy, where a middle aged woman goes on vacation to Kenya to become a sex tourist--trying to buy love. GRADE---B+
***PARADISE: FAITH is another strong entry from Ulrich Seidl, this time a middle aged woman who loves to flagellate in front of the crucifix, finds her faith tested by resistant folks she tries to convert, and then her Muslim husband returns and resists her efforts. Another controversial film. GRADE---B+
***PARADISE: HOPE is the final film in the trilogy, where a younger woman goes to a fat camp and falls for the doctor--it's much more gentle film than the first two. These films ALL got the conversation going afterwards---- they are love them or hate them, but any film that can get the buzz going has got to have plenty of merits. These films are all long, and leisurely paced, but they are not exactly dull. GRADE----B
U.S.A film PUTZEL is trying to be a romantic comedy, but the girl (a charming Melanie Lynskey) ends up having affairs with two not so sympathetic related men, and the laughs are very very dim. This seemed like a distant remake of the Barbara Striesand film UP ALL NIGHT which I saw recently and enjoyed. This one, set is a New York Jewish fish emporium deli--not so much. GRADE---C
As a character study of a religious megalomaniac, THE SOURCE FAMILY is a document that is hard to beat. Set in the hippie-trippie 60's, it tells the true story of a fascinating, charismatic man who starts a free love religion (it's mostly free for him---the other guys get the left overs) but ultimately self destructs with too much power. It is a very insightful and entertaining film. GRADE-----B+
I'm very glad that the new Ken Loach film ANGELS' SHARE came with subtitles, because the film about a troubled youth and his friends trying to get redeemed by studying the subtitles of whiskey making and drinking in and around Glasgow has some really strong dialects and accents to sort through. It is still a lovely, humorous film, with great spirit and generous themes of friendship. GRADE-------B
I enjoyed IRON MAN but never bothered with IRON MAN 2 because of very negative comments by friends and critics. Good news for lovers of the series. IRON MAN 3 seems to have been revived by last years film THE AVENGERS---this new IM3 is very funny, has a lot of action (although sometimes it didn't make a lot of logical sense) and moves along like a runaway train. I had fun with it in spite of some serious lapses. Summer popcorn fun. GRADE--------B
Filled with great actors keeping it real, THE COMPANY YOU KEEP keeps the tension going as a group of underground student radicals, now in their 60's (including Robert Redford, Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott, etc., are practically forced out into the public, while a smart ass young news reporter (Shia LeBeouf) indifferently hunts them down, oblivious to the human and political ramifications that each character carries. It's a thoughtful and well meaning story, and the film has an unusual and reflective quality to it. GRADE---------B
Locally produced and directed, Megan Griffiths film EDEN is based on a true story of a young Korean-American teen who is kidnapped in Arizona and forced into human sexual trade. Parts of Washington state were used for Arizona--I didn't notice the difference. The good thing about this film is the subtle way the action is portrayed, without explicitness or luridity. The focus is on the characters, and the girl's efforts to escape the corrupt clutches of the small town's big wigs. Engrossing and thoughtful. GRADE-------B
___________________
On DVD I watched a four hour British drama called BEHAVING BADLY (1988) with Judi Dench as a middle aged divorcee who starts to change her behavior because she is bored, and takes a younger lover, much to the distress of her adult daughter and ex husband. Unfortunately, the film is rather dull when it should have been lively and naughty. GRADE--------C
______________________
The SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (SIFF) screenings began this past week--check the free program guide for scheduled show times. Here is what to watch for or watch out for.....
Engrossing true story, THE DEEP suffers from mostly being filmed in the fog, at night, in the water--so my eyes were very strained from trying to see what was going on. GRADE---B-
From filmmaker Noah (SQUID AND THE WHALE) Baumbach comes a Woody Allenish comedy drama of a 20-something trying to make it in NYC, with the charming Greta Gerwig. I loved FRANCES HA, but many felt the opposite of me. GRADE---B+
Documentary lite, filmed using home movies (and we know how much fun those can be....) this film from the 3 White House conspirators captured OUR NIXON, but not very deeply. There is one great scene where Nixon introduces an innocuous singing group (Ray Conniff Singers???) only to have the lead sing pull out a banner, and berate Nixon for badmouthing Daniel Ellsworth's attempt to
release those damning files, and then they launch into a forgettable tune. GRADE----C+
A true "festival" film, from Russia, about a sect of women dealing with sex, marriage, and mysticism. I had no idea some of the time what was going on in CELESTIAL WIVES OF MEADOW MARI, but it's filmed beautifully and it's so odd and wonderful at times that you don't mind. GRADE-----A-
I was instantly annoyed by the characters, improvisation, and herky jerky giggly camera work, and that feeling didn't change throughout this story of young hipsters looking for a cactus induced high on the beach. It's called CRYSTAL FAIRY---you've been warned. GRADE-----D
Irish film JUMP is slick and well acted, but it felt like a poor man's Guy Ritchie film. GRADE---C+
Russian film THE DAUGHTER (I KORI) is very strong, engrossing film of serial killer in small village. GRADE------B+
WE STEAL SECRETS: STORY OF WIKILEAKS---a fascinating documentary featuring Wikileaks leader Julian Assange and Army Private Bradley Manning, who released a lot of military secrets.
GRADE-----A-
C.O.G---based on writings from David Sedaris, the film is OK--feels a bit underdeveloped, but still easy to watch and has a few laughs, as "David/Samuel" tries to live the life of an apple picker to gain some knowledge of the simple folk. GRADE-----B-
***PARADISE: LOVE is the strongest and most controversial of the Ulrich Seidl trilogy, where a middle aged woman goes on vacation to Kenya to become a sex tourist--trying to buy love. GRADE---B+
***PARADISE: FAITH is another strong entry from Ulrich Seidl, this time a middle aged woman who loves to flagellate in front of the crucifix, finds her faith tested by resistant folks she tries to convert, and then her Muslim husband returns and resists her efforts. Another controversial film. GRADE---B+
***PARADISE: HOPE is the final film in the trilogy, where a younger woman goes to a fat camp and falls for the doctor--it's much more gentle film than the first two. These films ALL got the conversation going afterwards---- they are love them or hate them, but any film that can get the buzz going has got to have plenty of merits. These films are all long, and leisurely paced, but they are not exactly dull. GRADE----B
U.S.A film PUTZEL is trying to be a romantic comedy, but the girl (a charming Melanie Lynskey) ends up having affairs with two not so sympathetic related men, and the laughs are very very dim. This seemed like a distant remake of the Barbara Striesand film UP ALL NIGHT which I saw recently and enjoyed. This one, set is a New York Jewish fish emporium deli--not so much. GRADE---C
Friday, April 19, 2013
PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, "42", FROM UP ON POPPY HILL, STARBUCKS, MY BROTHER THE DEVIL, INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE, JOSHUA TREE 1951, GIMME THE LOOT, OZ THE GREAT & POWERFUL, again, PLUS a contemporary Spanish classic UNINVITED GUEST
Nearly three weeks since my last blog, so films are a bit backed up.
The most ambitious, moody film of the week, THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, started out in a cliched, obnoxious manner, with a lot of hand held camera movements that I really don't enjoy or appreciate. but as the (long--2hour 20 minute) film progressed, it became much more complex and the filming became calmer, and I began to "enjoy" it more, if one can enjoy such a serious and sad theme. Basically a film about two men of opposites, one a screwed up and irresponsible motor cycle rider (a bleached blond, heavily muscled and tattooed bank robber Ryan Gosling)who tries to settle down when he discovers his casual girlfriend from a year ago had his baby, and the other a young cop who is trying to live up to the achievements of his judge father and who also has a young baby. There are a couple of surprises which I didn't expect but many times I felt about one step ahead of the dramatic progression. Still, one doesn't get a heady drama about father/son relationships very often, and the ironies created between class and race and destiny were intriguing. GRADE------B+
A feel good French Canadian comedy/drama about a 40 something slacker ( known by the code name of STARBUCK)who discovers that his two decades of visiting the sperm bank have resulted in hundreds of children, many of whom now want to know who their biological father is. The children file a lawsuit to force him out--in the meantime he gains access to their files, and hunts (stalks?) some of them down and befriends them anonymously. It's a lovely, funny film, so see it before it is remade and probably ruined by Hollywood. GRADE--------B+
Set in the low income housing projects of Paris, the multicultural drama MY BROTHER THE DEVIL is a marvelous understated character study of the older drug and gun selling brother trying to keep his younger brother out of the business, and wanting to get out himself. His opportunity comes when he befriends an older man who takes him on as an assistant (and more) but his younger brother thinks that he's become a terrorist. The film rides a delicate balance with dramatic tension, family drama, and the struggle to make it in the cold, cruel world of slums. GRADE-------B+
A low budget, experimental movie, filmed in sepia tones and evocative photography works well as a dramatized biography of the early start of a young James Dean just before he exploded in infamy. Titled JOSHUA TREE 1957: PORTRAIT OF JAMES DEAN, the film emphasizes the homosexual life that Dean probably led in his attempt to become famous, and the film is a curiousity that challenges and shocks and satisfies on many crudely artistic levels. GRADE-----B+
Another bio pic that is more entertaining and wholesome is the unofficial story of the first African American baseball player Jackie Robinson recruited by the Majors and his challenges in the locker room, on the field, and on road trips. The title "42" comes from his jersey number, which today has been retired from all Major league usage. Lead actor Chadwick Boseman gives an outstanding performance, and the rest of the cast is equally good. The film manages to be inspiring without sentimental hogwash clouding most scenes. GRADE------B+
The new Japanese anime film for Studio Ghibli called FROM UP ON POPPY HILL is spectacularly drawn, colored and detailed, which makes the odd, maudlin plot the main culprit here from keeping this film from becoming a classic like HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and SPIRITED AWAY. The young girl keeps house for her grandmother (mom is mostly absent), goes to school, leads the clean up project of a dirty old fraternity for boys, and starts to fall for a smart student---who may turn out to be her step-brother. Yuk and Yawn, but the film is still fascinating to look at with stunning visuals that keep you interested. GRADE------------B
Another film that features quality visuals is OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL--viewed again by a timing default. The opening 20 minutes remains the difficult section. It is filmed in WIZARD OF OZ honoring black and white, but is very talkie as it tries to set up the various characters who will later appear in the land of Oz. Still, it is entertaining for lovers of WIZARD OF OZ and is very faithful and respectful in spirit and themes. GRADE------B
I went reluctantly to THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE, because, frankly, there wasn't much playing that week that interested me, so it could be a case of very low expectations being met and exceeded. It isn't socko, but the film has a gentle spirit, some delightful sight gags, a wacky out there performance by Jim Carrey as a violent magician, and the always witty Alan Arkin. It isn't very memorable, but it wasn't awful, either. GRADE--------B-
When I saw GIMME THE LOOT at SIFF 2012, I remember vividly the constant flow of profanity, especially every form, verb, adjective and noun of the F word----in every single sentence. Had all that profanity been cut, the screenplay would have been about 3 pages long. Two young teen friends want to "tag" (graffiti) at a baseball game, but getting there is the challenge, and the boy and girl try to ignore the growing feelings they have for each other. It's breezy stuff, and forgettable, but easy to watch if constant profanity doesn't offend you. GRADE-------C+
_________________
My favorite DVD viewings of the past couple weeks are as follows:
This is the third viewing I've had of the Spanish thriller THE UNINVITED GUEST (EL HABITANTE INCIERTO) (2006). It's a clever, insinuatingly intense drama about an unstable arcehict who is recently single and living alone in a large new house in which he swears he keeps hearing someone moving about. His ex-girlfriend doesn't believe him, and neither do the neighbors or the police. He becomes so obsessed that he leaves the house and ends up............Well, the plotting is fascinating and the creepiness keeps growing. The film reminds me of Polanski's ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) and THE TENANT (1976) (the lead even reminds me of Polanski, who starred in that classic....this might make a great double bill....). It's a wonderful subtle thriller with some great twists, and should please most thrill seekers. GRADE-------A-
I remembered seeing Neil Simon's CALIFORNIA SUITE (1976) when it was first released, and thinking that the best thing about it was Maggie Smith, and indeed she went on to win best supporting actress that year. She and Michael Caine play a bickering couple who travel from London to Los Angeles for the Oscar show that might result in winning her an Oscar. Jane Fonda plays the brittle ex wife of Alan Alda who flies into Los Angeles to discuss the custody of their teen age daughter--theirs is the SERIOUS plot in the quartet of stories. Walter Matthau plays a bumbling straight man who ends up in a drunken bed with a passed out prostitute just an hour before his wife Elaine May is to be joining him--a comedy drama section. The least effective, and very slapstick quarter comes from Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor as doctor cohorts who find jealousy and pratfalls as they struggle to out do each other, to the dismay of their wives. Still it is all fitfully amusing, and the cast makes the most of Simon's gags. GRADE---------B
I remembered the amazing twist ending of THE OTHERS (2001), but this second viewing 12 years later didn't impress me much. It's the old ghost story in the big house and perhaps knowing the end takes the punch out of the proceedings. Nicole Kidman is still impressive, and Fionnula Flanigan is quite effective too. GRADE---------B-
Loosely based on the life of Gauguin, this fictional account based on the novel THE MOON AND SIXPENCE (1942) by W. Somerset Maugham, features a wicked performance by George Sanders at his most silver tongued. He plays a business man who leaves his wife, family, friends, and lovers to paint the way he wants to paint. He ends up in the South Pacific, living with a native woman and dies of---not syphilis like Gauguin, but .......leprosy. The film is unpleasant to watch because of his callousness, yet it casts a curious spell. The black and white film has a startling sepia sequence near the end. Very curious. GRADE-------B-
The most ambitious, moody film of the week, THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, started out in a cliched, obnoxious manner, with a lot of hand held camera movements that I really don't enjoy or appreciate. but as the (long--2hour 20 minute) film progressed, it became much more complex and the filming became calmer, and I began to "enjoy" it more, if one can enjoy such a serious and sad theme. Basically a film about two men of opposites, one a screwed up and irresponsible motor cycle rider (a bleached blond, heavily muscled and tattooed bank robber Ryan Gosling)who tries to settle down when he discovers his casual girlfriend from a year ago had his baby, and the other a young cop who is trying to live up to the achievements of his judge father and who also has a young baby. There are a couple of surprises which I didn't expect but many times I felt about one step ahead of the dramatic progression. Still, one doesn't get a heady drama about father/son relationships very often, and the ironies created between class and race and destiny were intriguing. GRADE------B+
A feel good French Canadian comedy/drama about a 40 something slacker ( known by the code name of STARBUCK)who discovers that his two decades of visiting the sperm bank have resulted in hundreds of children, many of whom now want to know who their biological father is. The children file a lawsuit to force him out--in the meantime he gains access to their files, and hunts (stalks?) some of them down and befriends them anonymously. It's a lovely, funny film, so see it before it is remade and probably ruined by Hollywood. GRADE--------B+
Set in the low income housing projects of Paris, the multicultural drama MY BROTHER THE DEVIL is a marvelous understated character study of the older drug and gun selling brother trying to keep his younger brother out of the business, and wanting to get out himself. His opportunity comes when he befriends an older man who takes him on as an assistant (and more) but his younger brother thinks that he's become a terrorist. The film rides a delicate balance with dramatic tension, family drama, and the struggle to make it in the cold, cruel world of slums. GRADE-------B+
A low budget, experimental movie, filmed in sepia tones and evocative photography works well as a dramatized biography of the early start of a young James Dean just before he exploded in infamy. Titled JOSHUA TREE 1957: PORTRAIT OF JAMES DEAN, the film emphasizes the homosexual life that Dean probably led in his attempt to become famous, and the film is a curiousity that challenges and shocks and satisfies on many crudely artistic levels. GRADE-----B+
Another bio pic that is more entertaining and wholesome is the unofficial story of the first African American baseball player Jackie Robinson recruited by the Majors and his challenges in the locker room, on the field, and on road trips. The title "42" comes from his jersey number, which today has been retired from all Major league usage. Lead actor Chadwick Boseman gives an outstanding performance, and the rest of the cast is equally good. The film manages to be inspiring without sentimental hogwash clouding most scenes. GRADE------B+
The new Japanese anime film for Studio Ghibli called FROM UP ON POPPY HILL is spectacularly drawn, colored and detailed, which makes the odd, maudlin plot the main culprit here from keeping this film from becoming a classic like HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and SPIRITED AWAY. The young girl keeps house for her grandmother (mom is mostly absent), goes to school, leads the clean up project of a dirty old fraternity for boys, and starts to fall for a smart student---who may turn out to be her step-brother. Yuk and Yawn, but the film is still fascinating to look at with stunning visuals that keep you interested. GRADE------------B
Another film that features quality visuals is OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL--viewed again by a timing default. The opening 20 minutes remains the difficult section. It is filmed in WIZARD OF OZ honoring black and white, but is very talkie as it tries to set up the various characters who will later appear in the land of Oz. Still, it is entertaining for lovers of WIZARD OF OZ and is very faithful and respectful in spirit and themes. GRADE------B
I went reluctantly to THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE, because, frankly, there wasn't much playing that week that interested me, so it could be a case of very low expectations being met and exceeded. It isn't socko, but the film has a gentle spirit, some delightful sight gags, a wacky out there performance by Jim Carrey as a violent magician, and the always witty Alan Arkin. It isn't very memorable, but it wasn't awful, either. GRADE--------B-
When I saw GIMME THE LOOT at SIFF 2012, I remember vividly the constant flow of profanity, especially every form, verb, adjective and noun of the F word----in every single sentence. Had all that profanity been cut, the screenplay would have been about 3 pages long. Two young teen friends want to "tag" (graffiti) at a baseball game, but getting there is the challenge, and the boy and girl try to ignore the growing feelings they have for each other. It's breezy stuff, and forgettable, but easy to watch if constant profanity doesn't offend you. GRADE-------C+
_________________
My favorite DVD viewings of the past couple weeks are as follows:
This is the third viewing I've had of the Spanish thriller THE UNINVITED GUEST (EL HABITANTE INCIERTO) (2006). It's a clever, insinuatingly intense drama about an unstable arcehict who is recently single and living alone in a large new house in which he swears he keeps hearing someone moving about. His ex-girlfriend doesn't believe him, and neither do the neighbors or the police. He becomes so obsessed that he leaves the house and ends up............Well, the plotting is fascinating and the creepiness keeps growing. The film reminds me of Polanski's ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) and THE TENANT (1976) (the lead even reminds me of Polanski, who starred in that classic....this might make a great double bill....). It's a wonderful subtle thriller with some great twists, and should please most thrill seekers. GRADE-------A-
I remembered seeing Neil Simon's CALIFORNIA SUITE (1976) when it was first released, and thinking that the best thing about it was Maggie Smith, and indeed she went on to win best supporting actress that year. She and Michael Caine play a bickering couple who travel from London to Los Angeles for the Oscar show that might result in winning her an Oscar. Jane Fonda plays the brittle ex wife of Alan Alda who flies into Los Angeles to discuss the custody of their teen age daughter--theirs is the SERIOUS plot in the quartet of stories. Walter Matthau plays a bumbling straight man who ends up in a drunken bed with a passed out prostitute just an hour before his wife Elaine May is to be joining him--a comedy drama section. The least effective, and very slapstick quarter comes from Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor as doctor cohorts who find jealousy and pratfalls as they struggle to out do each other, to the dismay of their wives. Still it is all fitfully amusing, and the cast makes the most of Simon's gags. GRADE---------B
I remembered the amazing twist ending of THE OTHERS (2001), but this second viewing 12 years later didn't impress me much. It's the old ghost story in the big house and perhaps knowing the end takes the punch out of the proceedings. Nicole Kidman is still impressive, and Fionnula Flanigan is quite effective too. GRADE---------B-
Loosely based on the life of Gauguin, this fictional account based on the novel THE MOON AND SIXPENCE (1942) by W. Somerset Maugham, features a wicked performance by George Sanders at his most silver tongued. He plays a business man who leaves his wife, family, friends, and lovers to paint the way he wants to paint. He ends up in the South Pacific, living with a native woman and dies of---not syphilis like Gauguin, but .......leprosy. The film is unpleasant to watch because of his callousness, yet it casts a curious spell. The black and white film has a startling sepia sequence near the end. Very curious. GRADE-------B-
Thursday, March 28, 2013
STOKER, WARM BODIES, OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, ADMISSION plus A.Penn Classic NIGHT MOVES
A strong contender for stylish thriller of the year, STOKER has a lot of creepy moments, and the good cast leaves an unsettled feeling that permeates the film. It works as a mystery about the arrival of a strange man (Mathew Goode) who is the unknown brother to the recently deceased father of Mia Wasikowska and the disturbed wife, Nicole Kidman. Both needy lonely women become attracted to "Uncle Charlie" for different reasons, and I think there is more than a passing resemblance to Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT here, right down to the name Charlie, as it slowly dawns on the girl that her uncle may not be who she thinks he is. The pacing may be leisurely at first, but it builds nicely as we know more about her life, her mother and begin to realize that certain people in her life are disappearing at an alarming rate. The Korean director Park Chan-wook has made a number of creepy, fascinating films including SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE (2002) and OLD BOY (2003) (which is being remade this year by Spike Lee, with Elizabeth Olsen and Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Brolin) and gives the film an impressive style. GRADE------B+
I've been reading some not so polite reviews of the new film by Paul Weitz who did the marvelous dramedy ABOUT A BOY (2002) so I went in with low expectations, but I chuckled and laughed a lot throughout his new film ADMISSION, another dramedy with some charm, subtly and wit. Tina Fey gets a lot of the best lines, but Paul Rudd grounds the film and makes a great "straight man" and Lily Tomlin makes the most of her small role as Tina's militant feminist mother. The plot has Fey, who has worked for 16 years as a snooty admissions officer for Princeton, trying to get a special young student into the university, partly because he may be the child she gave up for adoption many years ago. The film tries to say alot about the changing direction of "families" in today's society. GRADE------B
There are great special effects, and the art and set direction are splendid, and the cinematography very sharp. The cast is certainly game. The only awkward aspect of the new film OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL is that it is trying awfully hard to be faithful to the continuing story of THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) (as well as the current Broadway smash musical WICKED) that you spend a lot of time following the mechanics of its plot, squinting your eyes in disapproval if any of the action might contradict the popular Judy Garland version. Fortunately the plotting is pretty faithful and leaves the future story accessible to the history presented. Still, it requires a lot of explanation and talk talk talk, and at the screening I saw, the 20 or so youngsters in attendance became restless and bored several times. But never fear---soon would arrive a tornado, flying monkeys, wicked witches or Munchkins to recapture their attention. By the end, I was satisfied with this prequel. GRADE---------B
A sleeper in the best way, the new zombie comedy WARM BODIES is a new take on the crowded theme of the walking dead. These new zombies apparently can be warmed up and healed by love, unless that is, of course, they are so far gone that their skin has already been burned to a crisp. It's a clever comedy with some big laughs. GRADE------B
The new Romanian film BEYOND THE HILLS deals with religious (and as a side-bar, sexual) hysteria in a rural convent. When a young woman comes to visit her best friend at the nunnery, sexual tensions make the priest resent the new comer, and drive the friend into rebel mode as she tries to convince her nun friend to leave for the big city. The leisurely paced film slowly builds tension, and the ending is disturbing, as we know what we've seen, but the "outside" world has a different take on the troubled convent. GRADE-------B-
The new documentary SUSHI: GLOBAL CATCH gives strong evidence that the current sushi popularity is largely responsible for the diminishing supply of fish, especially tuna, in the world's oceans. I've seen this argument before, most effectively in the disturbing film THE COVE (2009), but it is well worth seeing again. GRADE------B-
The following were viewed on DVD during the past 2 weeks.
The classic film-noir NIGHT MOVES (1975), released after his masterworks of MIRACLE WORKER (1962), BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967), ALICE'S RESTAURANT (1969) and LITTLE BIG MAN (1970), proved that the talented director Arthur Penn was no fluke. Gene Hackman is a private eye hired to track down a runaway girl. After he finds her he realizes that a can of worms has been opened that infects just about everyone he's been in contact with. Fascinating characters and and plot twists, and a great symbolic ending that reminds me of CHINATOWN (1974). GRADE----------A
The best foreign language film Oscar went to the Japanese film DEPARTURES (2008), a gentle, lovely film about a young man who, with his wife, returns to his hometown after the loss of his beloved job as cello player for a symphony, and the death of his mother. The only job he can find--an undertaker's assistant. The film is very funny and warm, and becomes strangely beautiful as it delves into the ceremonial aspects of comforting the grieving while attending to the dead. This film packs a big emotional punch by the final scene. GRADE--------A
I saw the Ghibli Studio's film PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997) upon is original US release, and I remember really liking it, but watching it again recently, I can honestly say that I didn't recall a single scene from this film. It felt like I was watching it for the first time. The unusual, creative visual animation is all there, and the theme, very symbolic for the need to go "GREEN" and save the forests before they are extinct is still timely. Maybe the film is so odd and bizarre with the different creatures (like little white forest ghosts, white horrific wolves, spirit creatures that look like bucks with antlers gone wild, etc) that my mind couldn't conceive to remember it. Weird, but engrossing to watch. GRADE------B+
Last but by no means least, is the sentimental, atmospheric, emotional adventure film DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS (1949) directed by Henry Hathaway. Lionel Barrymore mugs it up as the old grandfather captain on a whaling ship who has been fathering his grandson --a young Dean Stockwell in the finer points of shipboard life. He has some conflicts when a new younger captain (Richard Widmark) tries to teach him new ways. Talky and a bit tedious at first, but once they get to whaling at sea, it becomes rather engrossing GRADE------B
I've been reading some not so polite reviews of the new film by Paul Weitz who did the marvelous dramedy ABOUT A BOY (2002) so I went in with low expectations, but I chuckled and laughed a lot throughout his new film ADMISSION, another dramedy with some charm, subtly and wit. Tina Fey gets a lot of the best lines, but Paul Rudd grounds the film and makes a great "straight man" and Lily Tomlin makes the most of her small role as Tina's militant feminist mother. The plot has Fey, who has worked for 16 years as a snooty admissions officer for Princeton, trying to get a special young student into the university, partly because he may be the child she gave up for adoption many years ago. The film tries to say alot about the changing direction of "families" in today's society. GRADE------B
There are great special effects, and the art and set direction are splendid, and the cinematography very sharp. The cast is certainly game. The only awkward aspect of the new film OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL is that it is trying awfully hard to be faithful to the continuing story of THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) (as well as the current Broadway smash musical WICKED) that you spend a lot of time following the mechanics of its plot, squinting your eyes in disapproval if any of the action might contradict the popular Judy Garland version. Fortunately the plotting is pretty faithful and leaves the future story accessible to the history presented. Still, it requires a lot of explanation and talk talk talk, and at the screening I saw, the 20 or so youngsters in attendance became restless and bored several times. But never fear---soon would arrive a tornado, flying monkeys, wicked witches or Munchkins to recapture their attention. By the end, I was satisfied with this prequel. GRADE---------B
A sleeper in the best way, the new zombie comedy WARM BODIES is a new take on the crowded theme of the walking dead. These new zombies apparently can be warmed up and healed by love, unless that is, of course, they are so far gone that their skin has already been burned to a crisp. It's a clever comedy with some big laughs. GRADE------B
The new Romanian film BEYOND THE HILLS deals with religious (and as a side-bar, sexual) hysteria in a rural convent. When a young woman comes to visit her best friend at the nunnery, sexual tensions make the priest resent the new comer, and drive the friend into rebel mode as she tries to convince her nun friend to leave for the big city. The leisurely paced film slowly builds tension, and the ending is disturbing, as we know what we've seen, but the "outside" world has a different take on the troubled convent. GRADE-------B-
The new documentary SUSHI: GLOBAL CATCH gives strong evidence that the current sushi popularity is largely responsible for the diminishing supply of fish, especially tuna, in the world's oceans. I've seen this argument before, most effectively in the disturbing film THE COVE (2009), but it is well worth seeing again. GRADE------B-
The following were viewed on DVD during the past 2 weeks.
The classic film-noir NIGHT MOVES (1975), released after his masterworks of MIRACLE WORKER (1962), BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967), ALICE'S RESTAURANT (1969) and LITTLE BIG MAN (1970), proved that the talented director Arthur Penn was no fluke. Gene Hackman is a private eye hired to track down a runaway girl. After he finds her he realizes that a can of worms has been opened that infects just about everyone he's been in contact with. Fascinating characters and and plot twists, and a great symbolic ending that reminds me of CHINATOWN (1974). GRADE----------A
The best foreign language film Oscar went to the Japanese film DEPARTURES (2008), a gentle, lovely film about a young man who, with his wife, returns to his hometown after the loss of his beloved job as cello player for a symphony, and the death of his mother. The only job he can find--an undertaker's assistant. The film is very funny and warm, and becomes strangely beautiful as it delves into the ceremonial aspects of comforting the grieving while attending to the dead. This film packs a big emotional punch by the final scene. GRADE--------A
I saw the Ghibli Studio's film PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997) upon is original US release, and I remember really liking it, but watching it again recently, I can honestly say that I didn't recall a single scene from this film. It felt like I was watching it for the first time. The unusual, creative visual animation is all there, and the theme, very symbolic for the need to go "GREEN" and save the forests before they are extinct is still timely. Maybe the film is so odd and bizarre with the different creatures (like little white forest ghosts, white horrific wolves, spirit creatures that look like bucks with antlers gone wild, etc) that my mind couldn't conceive to remember it. Weird, but engrossing to watch. GRADE------B+
Last but by no means least, is the sentimental, atmospheric, emotional adventure film DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS (1949) directed by Henry Hathaway. Lionel Barrymore mugs it up as the old grandfather captain on a whaling ship who has been fathering his grandson --a young Dean Stockwell in the finer points of shipboard life. He has some conflicts when a new younger captain (Richard Widmark) tries to teach him new ways. Talky and a bit tedious at first, but once they get to whaling at sea, it becomes rather engrossing GRADE------B
Saturday, March 16, 2013
THE HOBBIT (again), LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE, THE QUARTET, DEAD MAN DOWN, THE MONK, PHANTOM, plus DVD choices
Top of the list for films seen in theatres this past 2 weeks start off with a repeat viewing of THE HOBBIT, first seen last December, but still as entertaining and enthralling as ever. My only complaint is the segment near the end inside the mountain where the hideous goblins live--there is so much running around (in fact, this is the third time that Gandolf the wizard has yelled to the dwarfs---"RUN!), swinging from rickety bridge to rickety bridge, and surviving the most deadly of falls of what seems like thousands of feet down rocky cliffs, that it feels more like a video game than a serious battle. I do enjoy that first meeting with Gollum where he plays cat and mouse games with Bilbo on the lake, which is inter cut with all that running around, but still, enough running around please. But a cinematic pleasure is not to be taken lightly, and the fantasy world created by Peter Jackson and company is still one of the great pleasures from last year. GRADE-------A-
Viewed last September at Vancouver International Film Festival, comes a small film with some hypnotic powers called LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE, a new film by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostaini, filmed in Tokyo. A student who prostitutes herself at night is sent to an academic elderly client out in the suburbs who seems more interested in feeding her and playing house, and she finds herself strangely drawn to him, rather than her immature boy friend who seems to have violent reactions to her seeming disinterest in him. Not a lot happens, but the tension is sustained and you feel the coming together of two diverse souls as a very positive thing. GRADE-------B+
You might think the main reason for seeing THE QUARTET is that the great Maggie Smith (PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE) is featured as "the DIVA" and gets her share of witty lines, as in her superb role in TV's DOWNTON ABBEY, so it is a lovely surprise to find that, yes, indeed she gets some great lines, but the three other actors who are part of THE QUARTET are equally delightful. Pauline Collins (best known for her stage and film performance as SHIRLEY VALENTINE), Billy Connolly (best known for MRS BROWN) and Tom Courtney (with a career stretching back to DR ZHIVAGO and beyond) are all working on all cylinders. Even though the plot is rather slim and leisurely predictable, it is an extreme pleasure watching these great actors go through their paces. Another wonderful reason for seeing this film---it's set in a retirement home for aging musicians, and most of the bit parts are played by actual music greats from the past. GRADE---B
Seen at last years SIFF, the Gothic film THE MONK is set in Madrid during the 17th century. A highly religious and popular monk has his spirituality tested by the arrival of a strange younger monk wearing a mask. Soon he finds that the devil is his real challenge. This is a superior melodrama based on a novel, and featuring good production values. I found it luridly fascinating. GRADE------B
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev of the Swedish THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, and starring Noomi Rapace (from that same film) the new want-to-be noir crime thriller DEAD MAN DOWN has some interesting, watchable scenes and the actors are compelling in sort of an over wrought manner, but the plot is convoluted and contains some big contrivances that don't make much sense. Dominic Cooper, Isabelle Hubert, Terrance Howard and Colin Farrell all make a good impression, and it's not a dull film--it just doesn't all come together like it should, plus it opens and closes with a couple of outrageously violent and bloody scenes that stretch credibility. GRADE-----C+
In the mid 1960's, a rogue atomic submarine is missing from the Russian arsenal and a power struggle ensues on board that might set off a nuclear war with the United States. The new film PHANTOM has all the right set up, and the cast (headed by Ed Harris, David Duchovney and William Fitchner) are up for the task. Unfortunately, the script feels leaden and familiar (think K-19, HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, BEDFORD INCIDENT, RUN SILENT RUN DEEP and dozens of other better films), the direction is just adequate and the entire film reeks of mediocrity. It is incredibly AVERAGE. GRADE------C
The following films were viewed on DVD during the last two weeks.
Set in a small, picturesque Peruvian fishing village, this dramatic, forbidden love/ghost story called UNDERTOW (2010) is handled with realism and an unbiased approach. The actors are beautiful and subtle, the setting and photography are stunning, and the film builds into a powerful and emotional ending. It works as an excellent cross between GHOST and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. GRADE---------A-
We usually watch this film THE REF (1994) during the Christmas season as an antidote to the saccharine films that usually appear, but it is a riot at any time of the year. Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis play a long suffering married couple who can't stop bickering, even when they are "kidnapped" by a vulgar local thief (Denis Leary) on Christmas Eve just before the acerbic mother-in-law (Glyns Johns)is showing up for dinner with her disfuncional family. The script is witty and nasty, and I enjoy this hilarious film every time I watch it. GRADE-------A-
An enjoyable if fantastic Studio Ghibli animated film SPIRITED AWAY (2001) has a young girl loosing her parents (they are turned into pigs after eating too much pork!) and being sent to a fantasy world where she is forced to work in a bathhouse which services some very bizarre ghosts and spirits. The film is a trip without the drugs, yet has such creative creatures and a persuasive sense of innocence that it casts a strong and satisfying spell. It is reminiscent of a very dark and perverse ALICE IN WONDERLAND, but totally unique in and of itself. GRADE-------A-
Based on the popular stage play of the 1940's, David Lean's film by writer Noel Coward called BLITHE SPIRIT (1945) is witty and amusing even by today's standards. Dashing Rex Harrison plays the newly remarried husband who inadvertently conjures up his dead ex-wife's ghost during a seance held by a would be mystic played with her usual aplomb and wit by Margaret Rutherford. He is the only one who can see the ghost, so there are a lot of misunderstandings between his new wife and his ghost ex-wife. The dialogue is quite bemusing at times, and always quite clever. The ending surprised me, in spite of the fact I'd seen this film several years ago. GRADE------B+
Viewed last September at Vancouver International Film Festival, comes a small film with some hypnotic powers called LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE, a new film by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostaini, filmed in Tokyo. A student who prostitutes herself at night is sent to an academic elderly client out in the suburbs who seems more interested in feeding her and playing house, and she finds herself strangely drawn to him, rather than her immature boy friend who seems to have violent reactions to her seeming disinterest in him. Not a lot happens, but the tension is sustained and you feel the coming together of two diverse souls as a very positive thing. GRADE-------B+
You might think the main reason for seeing THE QUARTET is that the great Maggie Smith (PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE) is featured as "the DIVA" and gets her share of witty lines, as in her superb role in TV's DOWNTON ABBEY, so it is a lovely surprise to find that, yes, indeed she gets some great lines, but the three other actors who are part of THE QUARTET are equally delightful. Pauline Collins (best known for her stage and film performance as SHIRLEY VALENTINE), Billy Connolly (best known for MRS BROWN) and Tom Courtney (with a career stretching back to DR ZHIVAGO and beyond) are all working on all cylinders. Even though the plot is rather slim and leisurely predictable, it is an extreme pleasure watching these great actors go through their paces. Another wonderful reason for seeing this film---it's set in a retirement home for aging musicians, and most of the bit parts are played by actual music greats from the past. GRADE---B
Seen at last years SIFF, the Gothic film THE MONK is set in Madrid during the 17th century. A highly religious and popular monk has his spirituality tested by the arrival of a strange younger monk wearing a mask. Soon he finds that the devil is his real challenge. This is a superior melodrama based on a novel, and featuring good production values. I found it luridly fascinating. GRADE------B
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev of the Swedish THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, and starring Noomi Rapace (from that same film) the new want-to-be noir crime thriller DEAD MAN DOWN has some interesting, watchable scenes and the actors are compelling in sort of an over wrought manner, but the plot is convoluted and contains some big contrivances that don't make much sense. Dominic Cooper, Isabelle Hubert, Terrance Howard and Colin Farrell all make a good impression, and it's not a dull film--it just doesn't all come together like it should, plus it opens and closes with a couple of outrageously violent and bloody scenes that stretch credibility. GRADE-----C+
In the mid 1960's, a rogue atomic submarine is missing from the Russian arsenal and a power struggle ensues on board that might set off a nuclear war with the United States. The new film PHANTOM has all the right set up, and the cast (headed by Ed Harris, David Duchovney and William Fitchner) are up for the task. Unfortunately, the script feels leaden and familiar (think K-19, HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, BEDFORD INCIDENT, RUN SILENT RUN DEEP and dozens of other better films), the direction is just adequate and the entire film reeks of mediocrity. It is incredibly AVERAGE. GRADE------C
The following films were viewed on DVD during the last two weeks.
Set in a small, picturesque Peruvian fishing village, this dramatic, forbidden love/ghost story called UNDERTOW (2010) is handled with realism and an unbiased approach. The actors are beautiful and subtle, the setting and photography are stunning, and the film builds into a powerful and emotional ending. It works as an excellent cross between GHOST and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. GRADE---------A-
We usually watch this film THE REF (1994) during the Christmas season as an antidote to the saccharine films that usually appear, but it is a riot at any time of the year. Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis play a long suffering married couple who can't stop bickering, even when they are "kidnapped" by a vulgar local thief (Denis Leary) on Christmas Eve just before the acerbic mother-in-law (Glyns Johns)is showing up for dinner with her disfuncional family. The script is witty and nasty, and I enjoy this hilarious film every time I watch it. GRADE-------A-
An enjoyable if fantastic Studio Ghibli animated film SPIRITED AWAY (2001) has a young girl loosing her parents (they are turned into pigs after eating too much pork!) and being sent to a fantasy world where she is forced to work in a bathhouse which services some very bizarre ghosts and spirits. The film is a trip without the drugs, yet has such creative creatures and a persuasive sense of innocence that it casts a strong and satisfying spell. It is reminiscent of a very dark and perverse ALICE IN WONDERLAND, but totally unique in and of itself. GRADE-------A-
Based on the popular stage play of the 1940's, David Lean's film by writer Noel Coward called BLITHE SPIRIT (1945) is witty and amusing even by today's standards. Dashing Rex Harrison plays the newly remarried husband who inadvertently conjures up his dead ex-wife's ghost during a seance held by a would be mystic played with her usual aplomb and wit by Margaret Rutherford. He is the only one who can see the ghost, so there are a lot of misunderstandings between his new wife and his ghost ex-wife. The dialogue is quite bemusing at times, and always quite clever. The ending surprised me, in spite of the fact I'd seen this film several years ago. GRADE------B+
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