All Is Lost (2013)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2017038/

This is man-vs-nature (or man-vs-himself?), with the main man himself, Robert Redford. With no backstory, or real conclusion either, the story is bounded only by the horizons of the ocean that we can see from just above sea-level. Wrecked in the middle of nowhere, he seems both seasoned and ill-prepared at the same time, with the appearance and demeanour of the old-man-at-sea but taken down by one catastrophe after another. As he moves through vexation through frustration to despair, you're often wondering how or why he ended up here, but you're really not that interested, unfortunately. Be it a vision-quest, a mid-life crisis, or a self-imposed exile for penance, you're never really compelled root for any side of the vs., and the ultimate resolution is unsatisfactory and uninteresting.

American Hustle (2013)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1800241/

I had high hopes for this one, and so was a bit disappointed. The Abscam story in the background of this provides an environment for a smaller story about the people involved in and affected by the greed, corruption and confusion of the times. The main characters are mostly well done, and the reflection, through music, costumes, and sets, of the mood and style of the late 70s is impressive. Some of the minor characters are too one dimensional (the exception being Jeremy Renner, somewhat unrecognizable as the Mayor) and the lapses into comedy in the story are distracting. Jennifer Lawrence is excellent, even if her Jersey accent lapses too often to make her fully believable), but even better is Amy Adams as the brilliant con-woman Sydney Prosser/Edith Greensly. Adams' fully realized portrayal is wonderful, and provides the emotional centre for the story. But ultimately, the story falls flat, despite the truth of it.

More Than Honey (2013)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2263058/

A nice little documentary, with fantastic images and interesting information about these winged matchmakers. The information is far from complete - a passing reference to Colony Collapse Disorder is given no further explanation - and the connections between the various location is obscure: other than the fact that they have something to do with bees, the folks shown in Switzerland, Germany, California, Texas, Australia and China are all interesting but separate, and incomplete (there is no background information given about any of the participants). Spotty facts aside, the film is interesting and visually spectacular. The ending seems to be allegorical - bees as supernatural or mythical creatures, whose mysteries are beyond us.

Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140373/

A nice film, with just a few flaws, nothing too horrible but enough to keep it from greatness. The story of the realization of the movie musical Mary Poppins by Walt Disney, the story pits Walt (Tom Hanks) against PT Travers (Emma Thompson) in a battle over story rights, frivolous songs and dancing penguins. A key requirement for getting and enjoying this film is to be familiar with the other - if you have neither seen nor know anything about Mary Poppins, this film will be mostly meaningless to you. If you are a fan of Mary's, this film should be delightful. The only parts that let the film down are the flashbacks to Travers' childhood in Australia. While an integral part of the story, this portion of the movie is poorly done. The characters are not given much depth and are more caricatures - the drunken father (in a role that would seem tailor-made for him, Colin Farrell founders), the mother used to better things, the daughter under the spell of her fantastic dad, even the bright golden glow of Australia seems overdone. The better parts are in California, where Travers' hostility is eventually charmed by Disney and his crew of merry (or Mary) makers, complete with the Hollywood last-ditch impassioned "trust me with her" speech that finally completes the transaction. The rest is history. While nothing particularly exceptional here, Hanks and Thompson, along with all of the Hollywood cast, are all great. Too bad about the stuff from Downunder, which undermines the great with the mediocre.

Lone Survivor (2013)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1091191/

A surprise for me - I really liked this. I was expecting fluff, but instead this is riveting and raw. The story is based on truth - a single survivor of a failed mission in Afghanistan. The delivery of the story is excellent. The characters are real and complete, and there is no shying away from the harsh realities and complexities of the mission and situations. Best segment is Act III - the battle in the forest. The heroic actions of the soldiers for their mission and for each other portray the significant agony and strength of these men against overwhelming odds. I think this film is on par (and even better in some aspects) than other recent films such as Zero Dark Thirty.

Oscars 2011 - a few thoughts and predictions

The big day is here - we're a bit snowed in at home, so not sure how we're going to get together, but hopefully one of us can make the trek.

I was at last able to see The King's Speech last night, and with that brought my pre-Oscar viewing to a close. I have only seen five of the 10 best picture nominees, but as usual will not let that stop me from making a few predictions for tonight.

About the current Oscar format - while I appreciate the spirit and intent of the Academy in expanding the Best Picture category to 10, I really don't think it is worth it. While it is likely often true that there are more than five films worthy of consideration, I think the last two years (and likely more if we go back and analyse it) show that there are rarely 10. There are always going to be a few embarrassing inclusions in a list of 10 like this, a couple of films who's producers know they are only there because of the oddities of math and not out of any real popularity or likelihood of winning.

And so, some predictions:

• Best supporting actor - I think just about everyone in this category is excellent (I have seen 4/5). The smart money's on Christian Bale, but I wouldn't be upset if any of the others win.
• Best actor - the dark horse here is Javier Bardem, as likely not many people have seen the film. My prediction is Colin Firth, but would not be surprised to see Jesse Eisenberg get it (what a career changer that would be for him).
• Best supporting actress - I'd like to see Helena Bonham Carter win here, as I thought her portrayal of the young Queen Mum was very affecting. Jacki Weaver from Animal Kingdom is a real long shot, but also a good choice. However, it will likely go to any of the others, and I'd guess Hailee Steinfeld.
• Best actress - this has to be Natalie Portman. Although I've not seen it, I hear so much about the film and her that it seems likely. As an aside, not a strong year for female parts (again); the last strong year was 2006, when there were several people to choose from rather than a short list to settle on.
• Screenplays - original should be Inception, adapted should be The Social Network.
• Director - David Fincher for The Social Network or Darran Aronofsky for Black Swan - very different films and so could go either way.
• Best picture - if I have to choose from just the ones I've seen, then I would pick Inception. I could see it going to Black Swan, The Kings Speech, The Social Network or True Grit.

For me, the biggest oversights of the Academy this year include:

• Matt Daman for Best Supporting Actor.
• Chris Nolan for Best Director for Inception
• Legends of the Guardians for Best Animated Feature
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for Best Foreign Language Film (not sure which year this officially was so perhaps not eligible).

So we'll see later how well I do. Off to the Red Carpet!

Shutter Island

I wanted to like this movie - but I just couldn't. The story conceit is obvious very early on, and so all the ghostly contrivances and twists that follow seem trite and silly. The music was jarring - loud and suspenseful when it was not needed, and completely absent when needed. The performances were good, except for the accents - perhaps Leo should stick to foreign accents instead of American ones. Visually impressive, even some of that was flawed, with very obvious blue-screen backgrounds in a few places, and camera placements and angles that served no purpose - they just reminded you that this was a movie and therefore were a distraction. Too bad - I think the Martin-Leo collaboration has so much potential, but they can't seem to help themselves from going to big and ruining all the small things.

Nine

I was looking forward to this film based on a) the trailer and b) another musical with Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge! being one of my all time faves). I was somewhat nervous about the film based a) Daniel Day Lewis (singing? after Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! last year, I was skeptical) and b) Rob Marshall. Chicago was not a favourite of mine; there were a few of the musical numbers that I really liked, but for the most part felt the movie didn't work as well as the actual stage production. My mixed anticipation was not without merit, given my now mixed views on the film that is Nine.

The film looks fabulous, although feels a bit messy in places (mostly editing). The musical numbers are spectacular - almost all of them, the exception being, unfortunately, the tepid melancholy tune given to Nicole Kidman. The story used to bring together all of these performers and their fabulous numbers also left me a little flat - I didn't like Contini, and thought he got what he deserved for staying immature his whole life, and there was such a brief glimpse of redemption at the end that it seems unbelievable. However, I could endure that for the fabulous numbers - Be Italian was my favourite, but also Cinema Italiano, Folies Bergere and Take It All. Of those, two are originals for the film - Cinema Italiano and Take It All - and the Cinema one did stand out a bit as not really belonging in the story. All of the musical performances - including Daniel Day Lewis and notwithstanding the limp number given to Nicole Kidman - were outstanding. I hope opportunities to let all of these folks perform in musicals again will happen.

While this film will not make into my list of favourite musicals, those exceptional numbers will likely make it to my bookmarked favourties on YouTube.

A few late 2009 viewings

The Other Man (Liam Neeson, Antonio Bandaras). A real twist on a familiar tale, and again a chance for men to play ordinary vulnerable people. The character and plot turns in this story make for a surprisingly engaging and touching film.

Five Minutes of Heaven (Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt). A nice surprise and interesting idea. The story uses the idea of a reality show as a device to promote truth and reconciliation, and focuses on two somewhat reluctant participants. The result is interesting, heart-wrenching, and believable. A nice change to see men in vulnerable sensitive roles that do not involve using those qualities to seduce women.

Inglorious Basterds (Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger). A hoot! Funny revisionist WWII story - pretty tough to do anything really new in that genre, but leave it to Quentin Tarantino. Brad Pitt is marvelous. The film is fun and well made. Perhaps not as monumental as Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction, but certainly a good addition to that oeuvre.

Paranormal Activity. I'm normally someone who doesn't like horror/scary movies, but this one was very well done - creepy without being terrifying and enjoyable. The "real" cinematography was well used here to heighten the tension and create effects without really having effects. A very impressive film considering its history.

It's Complicated (Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin). I only found out afterwards that the Nancy Meyers responsible for this film also brought us Something's Gotta Give and Baby Boom, amongst other women 'breaking out' films. Meryl Streep is as good as it gets in this one, but I could not get past the "I've seen this before" feeling throughout. The slapstick comedy in several spots was quite distracting and several character and story elements really fell flat (the kids - for a group that have all left home, they sure all spend a lot of time at home, the girlfriends - none of them as interesting as Meryl or really much concerned with her life). Steve Martin was given pretty short shrift in this, with a character as interesting as a lukewarm glass of white wine - you want to think there's something good or interesting there, but it doesn't come through. Overall, just okay.

Avatar (doesn't matter who's in it - you know the film I mean). This is worth seeing on the big screen (and in Imax if you can manage it). The effects are truly ground breaking - several times I felt myself ducking or moving or reaching up to touch something - and so the film is lovely to watch. The story is rather ordinary - Dune meets Dances With Wolves, with a bit of Star Wars thrown in - but the characters are well done with few caricatures. The film comes in a bit long at 2:40, but it is worthwhile.

District 9

I didn't know anything about this film when I went into the theatre - thought it was something about robots from space. I was pleasantly surprised by this smart and daring action film. The treatment of the aliens (or "prawns") is unsettling to say the least, and certainly a clear parallel to internment camps of history, while the juxtaposing of this racist society within the formerly Apartheid South Africa made some very challenging statements - how do societies deal with anyone that is "other"? How should societies balance the needs and security of the many with compassion for the few?

While certainly not for everyone (clearly, as I do know some folks who would not watch this film), I found it engaging, exciting, thought-provoking, funny in places, and enjoyable. My only real criticism is for the shameless plugging of the sequel opportunity, with the repeated promise of a three year return. The heretofore unknown lead actor, Sharlto Copley, was brilliant - a great mix of bumbling bureaucrat turned reluctant rebel, pathos for his lost love and shattered ideology. He moves so quickly from "us" to "them" that the destruction of his world is hard for him and the audience to absorb, and yet he must if he is to survive the experiments and his new reality.

There are really no other human characters in the story, other than the horrible chieftain and his gang of miscreant followers living amongst the aliens. These creeps serve primarily to show that, like the drug dealers and pimps, gang leaders and warlords of our current world, the lowest of society will move to exploit any situation, no matter how depraved - in the midst of the squalor of District 9, some group of humans has already moved in to exploit the aliens and declare themselves kings of that pathetic hill. The fact that they are Nigerian has been commented on in the news, but I don't think it matters where they are purportedly from - it makes sense geographically and historically. They are cretins, regardless of their nationality.

I would like to see this one again eventually, as I'm sure there are elements of the story and dialogue that I missed in the action.

Julie & Julia

I'd been looking forward to this film for a while, mostly because I love films about food (for those who need a fix, try "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman" or "Babette's Feast" for true foodie film indulgence). While the food elements were good, it was the portrayal of the relationship between Julia Child and her husband Paul that was the true force of the film.

As Julie cooks her way through Julia, hoping to gain some meaning in her life, we see Julia her self pulling herself into the cooking world and bringing French cooking to Americans. Her life and her marriage bring her hardships and heartache, but throughout it all she maintains a laugh and a love for her husband that is unsinkable. Julie, on the other hand, is "a bitch" as described by her own best friend, and I couldn't agree more. She is whiny and self-centred, heaping abuse on her well-meaning and saint-like husband. She seems to pull herself around at the end, but only after achieving success beyond reason as a result of her blog, so it is unclear whether she really learns the life lessons beyond cooking from Julia, or if her new success makes them now unnecessary.

Meryl Streep is a goddess. There is no other word for her. She so completely becomes Julia Child that we stop seeing Meryl Streep, which is exactly what is required here. The loving, moving, close relationship between Julia and Paul is captured beautifully by Meryl and Stanley Tucci, and is truly the best part of the story.

Of course, it will be a crime if Meryl is not nominated for an Oscar for this, but I'll also predict something for Stanley, for the costumes and art direction - for the Julia sequences, mostly.

The International

I meant to write about this one weeks ago when I saw it, not because I enjoyed it - which I didn't - but because it included some of the most implausible dialogue I've heard. 

In essence, the story has Clive Owen as an Interpol agent (who apparently have no power or jurisdiction anywhere, which was news to me any anyone who's read the Interpol warning at the start of a video or DVD movie) on the trail of some kind of dodgy bank. At things develop, it is hinted that this bank knows everything, controls everything. The film trailer did hint at this "they are everywhere" theme, but the movie itself did little to show that the bank was everywhere, just that they were always wherever Clive Owen was. In the end, the bank goes belly up, and Clive takes the law into his own hand to finish off the bad guys.

The dialogue was what most astounded me. Clive is given the most astounding prosaic dialogue. My favourites (and they must have been astounding since I remember them):

"Sometimes you find your destiny on the road you take to avoid it." This astounding fortune cookie philosophy convinces a hardened criminal to suddenly spill his story about the Bank and set Clive on the trail of the real baddies.

"In life there are bridges you cross and bridges you burn. I'm the one you burn." This one gives him a clean break from the female lead played by Naomi Watts. It is unclear why she was even in the story, as she did not bring in any other information, and any possible romantic link between them was squashed early on by showing her loving husband and son.

There big shoot out scene in the film - in the Guggenheim gallery in New York - was very well done, but unfortunately cannot save this movie from all its other flaws.

The Days the Earth Stood Still

We recently watched both the 2008 and 1951 versions of this story. It was interesting to watch them back-to-back and to have watched the newer version (I was not that fond of it) before the older one (I liked it).

Hopefully without spoiling anything for anyone, the summary of the story is: a strange object arrives on earth with 2 passengers, an alien "man" named Klaatu and a robot named Gort. Klaatu has come representing a federation of other life bearing planets to assess the potential for damage represented by man to the life bearing capacity of Earth. He warns that if Man cannot be trusted with responsibility to take care of the Earth, Man will be eliminated.

In the 1951 version, Klaatu is truly just an advance man, representing no real threat other than to Mankind's conscience. He spends some time getting to know the human race through a mother and son he meets at his rooming house. He blends in, and shows understanding, compassion and humanity, even a sense of humour. He demonstrates the potential power of the aliens by making the Earth stand still - bringing all mechanical devices to a halt for 30 minutes. In the end, Klaatu leaves having done little more than disturb the peace, with a warning about what might happen if Man doesn't smarten up and play nice with each other.

In the 2008 version, Klaatu is a bit more menancing, almost robot-like, which is understandable with the casting of Keanu Reeves in the role. There is a very strange scene at the beginning of the film, with Reeves as 1930's mountaineer discovering a strange glowing orb in the Himilayas that leaves him unconscious and with a strange mark on his hand; this is never explained in the story and so is truly pointless, serving only to allow a brief snicker at the poor make-up and scenery (for being in the mountains and a snow storm, he looked pretty warm, you could not see his breath at all, and the beard he wore was pretty ridiculous). In his later incarnation as Klaatu, he is much more at home, adopting the alien persona complete with automaton expressions. The rest is pretty unbelievable story of a him escaping and the dodging recapture by the entirety of the US Military (lead by Kathy Bates as the Secretary of Defense, sporting the wardrobe and hairdo that one might expect if Ivana Trump was Secretary of Defense. This was very odd casting.) aided only by Jennifer Connelly and her stepson and their Honda Civic. In the end, Klaatu and his GORT (now renamed with a typically ominous military acronym for Genetically Organized Robotic Technology) lay waste to much of the eastern US, only ceasing when Klaatu takes pity on the son and mom. However, his reprieve comes at a price - no more technology for Mankind, as he wipes out electricity and everything with a massive EMP. In this version, The Day the Earth Stood Still becomes the that last scene, and the Earth presumably stands still ever after as Man learns his lesson and takes better care of the planet. Unlikely.

I enjoyed the 1951 version more mostly because the alien was truly not a threatening presence. He lived among the citizens, learning about Mankind through the eyes of a young boy excited to show off his home town to a stranger. The film ends with the hope that Man will heed the warning. The 2008 version is almost like a sequel - Man did not listen to the first Klaatu and so the second one came on a clean-up mission. The idea that the other ships that accompany Keanu to Earth start to perform an ark-like function, collecting up all the species except Man, presumably to repopulate the Earth after Man's extinction; this was a nice little add-on to the story that did not get adequate coverage in the movie, which is too bad.

Hopefully the later movie will lead folks to rediscover the earlier film, as it is well worth watching. The 2008 version can be left standing still.

Recent viewings

I've now finally seen Slumdog Millionaire. I completely understand what all the hype is about for this film, but don't believe it was the best of 2008. While the story is very well done - a great use of the game show questions to tell the life story - it is was in the end unsatisfying. All of the characters are redeemed, and those who deserve it get what's coming to them, but the resolution is unbelievable. The sudden development of a conscience by the brother makes no sense, and the strong bond of love between Latika and Jamal is hard to understand or believe, since they really do not know each other at all. Those problems aside, the film was enjoyable and very well done - a nice crossover from Bollywood to small Hollywood.

Other recent sightings of note (all on DVD or Blu-Ray):

• Let the Right One In - a Swedish child vampire story, with Oskar and Eli as the Jamal and Latika of this strange little love story. While pretty slow and dark, it was actually an interesting story, with a strange moral message about how to deal with school bullying.
• Role Models - I'm embarrassed to admit that I really enjoyed this film. It is not normally my kind of genre for comedy, but I found the stories and characters very entertaining and sweet.
• Nobel Son - a story with potential gets terrible treatment here. I keep rooting for Alan Rickman to get into a good groove in a role like this, but he seems to keep missing the mark.

Pickings are a bit slim these days, both at the theatre and the movie store.

Post Oscar Reviews 2009

First of all, I can't really comment on the night's big winner - Slumdog Millionaire - as I still have not seen it. However, most reports from others who have indicate that it is very good and it is therefore premature for me to have considered it a little movie (this year's Little Miss Sunshine). So I'll definitely aim to see it before it leaves theatres.

I was greatly anticipating this year's show, with Hugh Jackman as host and the "new" format involving a narrative presentation. I thought it started out well, and I enjoyed the way they put the categories together, and used the same host(s) for multiple awards, essentially creating "super-award" categories - pre-production, writing, music, technical production. I also really liked the use of the 5 previous award winners to introduce the 5 nominees in the acting category - although I was initially worried that it would take more time and make the show too long - and I hope they continue this approach in the future. It made the phrase "it's an honour to be nominated" a truth instead of a platitude, and it was very moving - seeing Shirley Maclaine congratulating Anne Hathaway was wonderful. 

I also really liked the projecting stage, bringing the main nominees in the front rows right up to the action. I wonder what the view was like for them - the front row like that is not always good - but it was great for those of us watching.

Despite all these things that I liked, I felt overall that the show lacked the usual surprise and emotion that we often get to see, and although it was a big show, it felt slow. Few of the speeches were especially moving and there was nothing the producers could do about Slumdog being the repeated winner and having people up there to say "thanks...again", but there was a distinct lack of spontaneity in the acceptance speeches. I do hope they stick with this type of show overall, and with Hugh as host, but also hope there is something they can do to spice it up a bit.

Other things:

• There seemed to be some disorganization with the presenters - some walking off stage without realizing they had another award to do, the foreign language film nominees not being listed. Ben Stiller was just weird - I had to read elsewhere that he was mocking Joaquin Phoenix, as I just didn't get it. Hugh Jackman seemed to be missing for much of the show, so much so that Will Smith (the most entertaining presenter of the evening) commented that he must be napping.
• The big musical number - liked it, Hugh was great, but it was also a bit all over the place and a bit pointless. It was not Mamma Mia! that signalled the return of the musical, it was Chicago and Moulin Rouge! that did that. And I REALLY could have done without seeing Beyonce with her shameless promotion of her own upcoming and overexposed portrayal of Etta James later this year.
• In Memorium - this was well done, and Queen Latifah's rendition of "I'll Be Seeing You" was awesome. However, there were two significant oversights in this - Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro. While Brad may not have had enough clout to merit mention, Heath Ledger's death and subsequent glory as The Joker was one of the most memorable stories of the year and his absence in the memorial tribute was obvious. Yes, he did win the Supporting Actor award and the moving tribute from his family did him justice. But what if by some miracle he HADN'T won that? Would they have run to the editing room to add his footage in to the memorial film?
• The memorial film also suffered from something that plagued other presentations - while it looked great to have multiple scenes playing on multiple screens on stage, the show producers seemed to forget the viewing audience - it was sometimes impossible to see what was going on, as the camera was showing the presenter or the audience and not what was on the presentation screen. Similarly, we never got a really good look at any of the background sets for the presentations, and so those were a bit wasted.

No Oscar review would be complete without some fashion commentary. For me, best dressed were Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz, and, um, that's about it. Too much in the way of white or off-white this year. Most horrid were Whoopi Goldberg, Tilda Swinton (although better than last year) and Beyonce - for whom, it seems, that all outfits must hug her hips so she knows where to put her hands in her signature pose. This website has some great pics of the fashions. www.dose.ca/photos/celeb/oscarfashion09.

Best speeches were from Kate Winslet and Sean Penn. I was so happy that Kate won (even though I think The Reader was not as strong a performance as Revolutionary Road, it was still excellent) and Sean was humble, witty, charming and strong in his speech.

Notable absences from the show - Jack Nicholson, Leonardo diCaprio, Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington and many of last year's winners including Javier Bardem, Daniel Day Lewis, The Coens, and Diablo Cody. So it did seem like a much smaller affair.

All in all, a slow-feeling show but one with potential. They might make this formula work with some fine tuning. And please, no more Beyonce...