Stuff about films and filmmaking
Midnight in Paris
Jul 3rd
Woody Allen is one of my favourite writer/ directors. He’s funny, witty and the films he makes have stood the test of time. At the age of 76, he does not appear to be slowing down which is a good thing for new and old fans alike.
His latest film takes place in Paris. A newly engaged couple Gil and Inez, played by Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams tag along with her parents to see the sights and hopefully the city of love inspires Gil to finish his novel.
Not to give away the crux of the story but this film is similar to The Purple Rose of Cairo. What life do you want to live, fiction or reality? Coming into contact with your literary heroes is a trip for Gil and he must decide what path to take. He falls in love with the city, he thinks he would have been more successful had he been alive during the 1920s.
The film is beautifully shot by Darius Khondji. Woody does not like to shoot under sunny skies, everything needs to be cloudy and unsure, much like the lives of his characters. Owen Wilson gives a great performance, wide eyed and happy. He wants to live and write in Paris, it makes sense to him. La Boheme is a big influence on him, that’s how he romanticizes his writing life.
This is a great film, one of his best. This late in the game, its great to see Woody still making quality films and still dealing with familiar subject matters but tackled from a different perspective. Awards don’t mean anything, I can see a Best Screenplay nomination but I would not be surprised to see a Best Director nomination. Go out and see this movie, you’ll have a great time.
Tree of Life
Jul 3rd
This film is such a visceral experience that begs to be viewed and experienced. Any review will not do it justice, you need to see it for yourself. Terrence Malik plays by his own rules, he’s only directed five films in forty years yet his name and subject matter evokes conversation. How many working directors can say that today?
The film is about creationism, evolution, nature vs nurture, String theory, Big Bang Theory but also much of the film relies on Christian teachings like the bible and the Book of Job. The film follows the O’Brien Family and how they raise their three children while growing up in a small town in Texas during the 1950s.
Brad Pitt plays Mr. O’Brien, a tough, hard nosed father who evokes fear in the lives of his children. His eldest son Jack, played by Hunter McCracken goes on a journey trying to understand his father, seeking his approval but nothing is ever good enough no matter what he tries to do. Growing up, Jack is played by Sean Penn. He tries to repair his relationship with his father while trying to understand what faith and the meaning of life is.
That’s basically the film but there is so much going on you will need multiple viewings to understand what Malik is trying to say. Either this film is all in Jack’s mind, looking back trying to piece together his childhood or when we flash forward into modern day, something Malik has never done, we just see a broken man trapped in the glass house he creates.
several weeks have passed since I have seen the film and although it plays in my mind, the film is good but not great. It is a difficult movie to get through but one that needs to be experienced then talked about and debated.
Super 8
Jun 20th
Director JJ Abrams (Star Trek, Mission Impossible III) created Fringe, Lost, Alias and Felicity is back with his new film that is a throw back to kids films we grew up loving and for some reason nobody makes anymore.
A group of kids get together during the late 70s and make a film on Super 8mm. During a night of shooting a train derails causing the Army to take over the town as they look for the mysterious creature that escaped. That’s the basic premise to this wonderful film.
As a film geek, lover call it what you want, I loved seeing these kids out and creating films. Growing up we were always outside playing and creating. The neighborhood kids all played together outside, now that never happens. We’re all inside playing video games or on the net, it’s sad really.
Steven Spielberg is the executive Producer and JJ pays an homage to his friend of mentor. We see examples of E.T. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, The Goonies, Gremlins, The Thing, you see examples throughout the film. It’s great to geek out and watch this film as the kids try to navigate and try to finally get parents to include them in their lives.
I loved the kids storyline, I loved the little love triangle and first love. Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney do a fantastic job, playing the actress and make-up artist. Everyone remembers their first love and crush and how we acted around the girl. Abrams perfectly captures it. I wanted more of the kids, more of the movie they were trying to film. The way parents deal with kids, not understanding love of cinema and why they want to make a movie, resonated with me in a very big big way.
The alien and army storyline was more of a negative, could make you lose interest but the kids pull it all together. Stay tuned for the end credits, you will see the film they make. It is funny, sincere and sweet. Just a great job from director J.J. Abrams.
Good Neighbours
Jun 15th
Set in the winter of 1995 as the Quebec Referendum is taking place, this well paced thriller is exactly what you would expect from a Canadian movie.
Writer, Director Jacob Tierney who directed a movie last year that I loved and recommended on this site, The Trotsky is back with another good film. Tierney brings back two familiar faces from The Trotsky, Emile Hamphsire who plays Louise, the serial killer obsessed cat fetish lover and Jay Baruchel, he plays a teacher who just moved into the apartment complex.
Louise is close with Spencer, played by Scott Speedman who is in a wheelchair after a terrible car crash. Victor shows up and essential disturbs the relationship they have. You can’t really blame him, he’s a friendly guy just wanting to make new friends.
What plays out is a fun cat and mouse game. The three become friends, keep tabs on one-another as they decide who is more trustworthy as the newspapers begin to report more killings. The story reminds me of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window and Strangers on a Train.
This film could very well be developed into a play, the acting and directing are solid. Tierney plots the characters into twists and turns you never see coming. This is a solid movie from top to bottom, I can’t wait for what Tierney has in store for us next.
Last Night
Jun 15th
A Married couple living in New York become tempted by an ex-lover and a co-worker while the wife stays home and the husband goes on a business trip to Philadelphia.
The married couple are Joanne and Michael played by Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington. After attending a work related party, Joanne watches her husband flirt with his pretty co-worker Laura played by Eva Mendes. This curious behavior from Michael leads Joanne to question the rules of marriage and what exactly constitutes cheating.
The next morning Michael leaves for his trip to Philadelphia with Laura while Joanne having a few days to herself, runs into her Ex Alex, played by Guillame Canet. He’s also a writer in town for a day to meet with friends and he took the time to look her up.
Writer, director Massy Tadjedin inter-cuts between the story lines, never getting too close which allows the audience to observe and watch the events play out. The story with Michael and Laura is never really interesting, seems boring, predictable. After saying all the right things, you just know Michael will succumb to his feelings, its inevitable.
The exciting storyline and the better acting comes from Joanne and Alex. Both were together for a long time, broke up and then she found Michael and married him. Alex is back in New york finishing up his book deal and as a last ditch effort wants to know if any spark still exists between them.
We follow the couples over a single night as they dance, eat, drink and walk. It’s an interesting story asking the question about infidelity. What is cheating? Is it flirting, is it thinking about someone else? Then of course, what is the more forgivable act, kissing or sleeping with someone?
This isn’t a great movie, I have seen better movies dealing with this subject matter but it deals with universal themes and leaving the theatre, I overheard a few debates on the subject matter which is a good thing.
X-Men: First Class
Jun 7th
When it was announced that writer/director Matthew Vaughn was taking over the franchise, many including myself rejoiced. Bryan Singer did such a terrific job with the first two X-Men movies then someone by the name of Brett Ratner was handed the reins and he effectively killed the franchise
Many were skeptical about a prequel. Matthew Vaughn has always delivered solid movies like Kick-Ass, Stardust and Layer Cake. After seeing the movie I’m happy to announce that X-Men: First Class ranks up there with the best comic book movies like Spiderman II, Iron Man, The Dark Knight and X-Men II.
The story is about a young Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr growing up and coming to terms with the powers they posses. One using telepathy and the other having the ability to control metals using his mind. Together at Oxford they become fast friends, enjoy one another even if their ideology is different.
James McAvoy plays Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender steals the movie with his performance as Magneto. The movie is set in 1962 during the Cuban Missile crises. Both Charles and Eric have one goal in mind, stop the nuclear war and to stop Sebastien Shaw played by the great character actor Kevin Bacon.
The movie has some great action set pieces, strong dialogue and it’s funny. The acting is top notch as well. Jennifer Lawrence, fresh off her Oscar nomination with Winter’s Bone plays Raven. She meets Charles at a very early age, they are like brother and sister and at times is jealous of the other girls Charles meets.
The focus of the young X-Men are Beast, Angel, Darwin, Banshee and Havok. We see how much Charles cares about them, wants them to know its Ok to be different. Eric on the other hand, knows the dangers that exists and wants to exploit the powers they posses. Professor X will form the X-Men while Magneto forms the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
This is a great story from beginning to end with two of the best cameos I’ve seen in a long time. Setting the story in 1962 was a brilliant idea because now they can do X-Men stories that take place in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. They have unlimited resources to pull from and I look forward to the next installment. This is a terrific movie not to be missed.
The Collapsed
Jun 7th
A low budget Canadian end of the world story redeems itself with an ending you have no idea is coming.
The story follows the Weaver Family during the crises. We don’t really know what’s caused the world to end but that’s not the story Writer/Director Justin McConnell is telling. Here, the family first starts off in the urban areas but then realize perhaps it would be safer if they walked in the forest.
We never see what the thing that caused the extinction is nor do we ever find out. What the Weaver family hide from are other humans. People are the worst, they are the true horror. This is a no budget film put to great use. Just two locations, a farm house and lots of country road. That’s all you need to tell a story and for the most part it does work.
The acting is at times laughable along with the dialogue. A movie like this needs to be sharp or you’ll lose interest pretty quickly. The score often times swells, it gets annoying pretty quickly but despite all that, the ending does pull it all together.
That’s why you never walk out of a movie, stick around until the end. The Road told a much better story but give Justin McConnell credit, he got to make a movie that played in theatres and for that he deserves credit and lots of praise.
The Hangover Part II
May 31st
Once again the talented cast reunites for a second adventure. This time the journey takes them to Thailand where after a drunken night, they wake up in Bangkok unsure of the events that transpired the night before.
Fans and critics like to poke fun at Gus Van Sant for making a shot for shot remake of Psycho but here director Todd Phillips once again fails to come up with a new premise. The first one was a surprise hit world wide showing the studios you can make a great and funny R rated film. You don’t need to dumb anything down for a lower rating just to attract teens and all the disposable income they have. Make an R rated film, a good one and you will see the results. You are allowed to be creative and the talent behind the first one proved that to everyone with a cast of largely unknowns.
Ed Helms, Zack Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper, became stars because of the first film. The only reason they made a sequel was the enormous payday each star got to return. Without proper care or heart, it would still do crazy numbers at the box office, dvd sales, netfilx etc. This film is just a train wreck from start to finish. Sure its making crazy money at the boxoffice but after watching Part II, I’m starting to wonder if the first one was any good to begin with?
I love to laugh and was expecting to laugh all throughout the movie but I never did. Its just lazy storytelling, actors are mailing it in and this time around they seem so annoying. How many jokes can you hear or quote from the Wolfpack or hey, how funny is Mr. Chow? He’s not funny at all, none of these guys are funny! What happened and how we got to this point we’ll never know but hopefully after Zack writes his autobiography, we’ll get insight as to why the movie failed artistically.
There is no moral in the end, no life lesson learned. How can creative and talented minds get together and produce such garbage? This movie ranks somewhere between terrible and pretty bad. Don’t waste money on this, save it for other summer movie releases, trust me you’ll be glad you did.
Bridesmaids
May 30th
From the creators of Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, Judd Apatow produced, his good friend Paul Feig directed this funny and emotional movie. The basic premise is Annie, played by Kristen Wiig, is in her late 30s, her business just went under and her best friend Lillian, played by Maya Rudolph, gets engaged and asks Annie to be her maid of honor.
What follows is a funny, raunchy girls adventure about life and love and the true meaning of friendship. Look at the landscape of television and you will notice females are the ones front and centre playing the main character. The ratings may not be top ten for Tiny Fey or Amy Poehler but make no mistake, they are the ones in charge much like Roseanne did decades earlier with her funny show of the same name.
The only reason to watch Saturday Night Live is Kristen Wiig. She is a star waiting to break out and this proves she can not only write a movie but also be the star and carry the film. She gives one of the best performances on screen so far this year, she’s incredible. Just the emotions and comedy she can convey, the movie is never dull or boring and that’s rare for a comedy.
What separates this from a Rom-Com, which this is not. This is a genuine story about life, loneliness and how life can kick your ass. What do you do? Give up, blame everyone, drink or do you pick yourself up, realize you are the only one responsible for how life has turned out and if lucky, you have a best friend will always be there for you?
Maybe its the subtext of it all, it was emotional for me. No shame to admit I saw this one alone, like I do most movies. I don’t need company to keep me entertained but my point is this, the feelings kristen Wiig experiences, I was with her every step of the way. Yeah I’m lonely and I may not yet be as successful as I imagined but I am doing what I love. How many of us can say that?
This is not just a raunchy film, it has a story and has heart. Something you rarely find in movies these days in Hollywood. Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper are the other funny supporting bridesmaids. Anyone who watches this film will probably enjoy it for other reasons but kristen Wiig does a wonderful job, you won’t be disappointed.
The Bang-Bang Club
May 24th
Based on the lives of four photo journalists in 1994 South Africa, the film shows us how courageous these men and women are who voluntarily enter war zones for the thrill of letting the world see what is happening and doing what it takes to capture that perfect photo.
The photo journalists are Greg Marinovich, Kevin carter, Ken Oosterbroek and Joao Silva. These four men were rock stars, the press dubbed them The Bang-Bang Club for their ability to enter war zones, get the shots nobody else could and still escape relatively unscathed. We see the gruesome images, fighting and blood in the streets and the effect it has on the journalists. While bullets wiz by these four men, duck and snap photos, they get off on it. Its a drug they cannot escape nor do they want to.
The images are heart wrenching, some do question the morality of snapping photos on the blood being spilled but how else is the world supposed to get the real story? Can you stand in a war zone, conflict and snap without without fear of dying? The film does show how each of the club members were affected, like Kevin Carter who often took drugs to help soothe the pain. He received the Pulitzer prize for this award winning controversial photo of a vulture stalking its prey much like the journalists do. http://randomsalt.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/blurb200_lg.jpg
What is the job of the photo journalist? To get information out to the world, help change the conflict or is it just a job? How many would be willing to strap a camera around their neck, enter blood shed and take photos? They get paid thousands of dollars by selling photos but at what cost?
The film is based on a book by the two surviving members, I won’t spoil anything but watching the movie you wonder how any of them survived the ordeal? It’s not an easy film to watch but one that deserves a look into the lives of four men who risked everything.
