bitdepth digest

A review of "Limits of Control (Ws Sub Ac3 Dol)"

2010-03-13T16:18:00.001-04:00

Limits of Control (Ws Sub Ac3 Dol)The best films are like dreams you’re never sure you really had.Jim Jarmusch creates a dreamy, beautiful and understated character study in The Limits of Control. While it is thin on plot, it’s heavy on beautiful and meditative imagery. Images and dialogue are repeated and modified in a musical way. The core of the film is Isaach de Bankolé who barely says

Existential Lunar Drama (rated 4 stars)

2009-08-23T13:45:00.001-03:00

Moon [Theatrical Release]by Duncan JonesIn Duncan Jone’s Moon we follow the journey of self-discovery of Sam Bell, the only inhabitant of the moon in the 70s sci-fi influenced story that is constructed around a great performance from Sam Rockwell. The film is deliberately paced and filled with references to many of the great, intellectual science fiction films that have preceded it. In the

Interesting Japanese Horror / Comedy Hybrid (rated 3 stars)

2009-08-23T13:29:00.001-03:00

DoppelgangerKioshi Kurosawa’s films are fascinating as he moves through different genres and creates interesting stories all that have an uneasy and ambiguous quality to them. In Doppelganger he starts off in the creepy / horror mode and then moves into a more comedic tone all while keeping things uneasy. The idea of Doppelganger is “what would happen if you met your double”. Kurosawa cleverly

French Crime Drama About Second Chances (rated 4 stars)

2009-04-04T16:17:00.001-03:00

Le Deuxième Souffleby Jean-Pierre MelvilleJean-Pierre Melville brings his understated and very cinematic touch to the crime drama “Le Deuxième Souffle”. With a taught and nearly wordless opening sequence of a jailbreak he raises the stakes and establishes the character of Gu (played by Lino Ventura) who wants to get away from his life of crime, but of course it isn’t quite as simple as it seems

A Focussed Autobiography of a Comedic Craftsman (rated 5 stars)

2009-03-29T13:18:00.001-03:00

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Lifeby Steve MartinSteve Martin is a funny man, but he takes his comedy quite seriously. In his thoughtful and intellectual autobiography, Born Standing Up he tells his story in the context of being a stand up comedian. Stripping out all but the relevant details, it’s a fascinating look at the formation of a performer who carefully honed an act and persona that seems

A Sad and Beautiful Character Study (rated 4 stars)

2009-03-29T12:48:00.002-03:00

I've Loved You So Longby Philippe Claudel With a powerful (but subtle) performance by Kristin Scott Thomas at the core of the French film, I’ve Loved You So Long we watch a woman who tries to restart her life after 15 years in prison. The details are revealed slowly and carefully in Philippe Claudel’s directorial debut. Most of the film is built around the relationship between the sister who was

A Balanced Look at The Past of Future of Sharing and Copyright (rated 5 stars)

2009-03-28T14:37:00.001-03:00

Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the World Economyby Lawrence LessigLaurence Lessig has a keen legal mind and while he’s firmly in favour of sensible copyright and sharing, in Remix he presents that case in a comprehensive and fair way while clearly taking into account all the participants in the creative ecosystem. It’s not “everything should be free” or “everything should be locked down

A Classic 70s Thriller (rated 4 stars)

2009-03-08T11:26:00.001-03:00

Marathon Manby John SchlesingerDustin Hoffman is great as a grad student caught up in a world of intrigue that he hadn’t suspected. John Schlesinger’s taut, paranoid thriller Marathon Man, is filled with twists and great acting as the film adds more information and draws the hero into the story. Taking time to establish the characters before filling in plot details creates a more compelling world

A Beautiful and Subtle Story of Loss and Addiction (rated 4 stars)

2009-02-03T18:46:00.001-04:00

Things We Lost in the Fireby Susanne BierI’m not really a fan of Hollywood “issue” dramas that take a serious look at things like drug addiction or other topics, but when I saw that Susanne Bier was directing Halle Barry and Benicio del Toro, I was intrigued. In her previous film “After the Wedding”, she told a melodramatic story in a completely compelling and moving way, so this seemed as though

Enigmatic Story About a Man and His Heart (rated 4 stars)

2009-01-31T19:41:00.001-04:00

The Intruderby Claire DenisWith the films of Claire Denis describing the plot isn’t the best way to get an idea of what they are about. Much more important than plot are the characters and the settings that they are in. With The Intruder Denis establishes the characters in a leisurely and beautiful way while leaving large gaps in what we see that the viewer needs to fill in for themselves. We’re

A Very Dark Comedy About Perception (rated 4 stars)

2009-01-31T19:30:00.001-04:00

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Notby Laetitia ColombaniThe less I explain, the better. Laetitia Colombani carefully constructs the film from two distinctive points of view, while counting on the audience to bring their memories of Audrey Tautou’s other characters with them. It’s very precisely constructed with clever twists that change our perception of what we’ve seen previously in the film. It’s

A Recursive Drama About Life (and Death and Art (and relationships)) (rated 4 stars)

2008-12-14T21:15:00.001-04:00

Synecdoche, New York [Theatrical Release]Charlie Kaufman is a distinctive writer of quirky films that usually subvert formal structures and are built around narcissistic characters who lack self-awareness. To say that Synecdoche, New York takes places within Kaufman’s usual territory would be an understatement and in his directorial debut he takes it one step further in a messy, frustrating and

An Inspirational Biography of a Pioneer (rated 4 stars)

2008-12-14T17:32:00.001-04:00

Milk [Theatrical Release]The biographical drama is a well-worn genre and while it allows for important stories to be told, the conventions often will make the films a bit boring. Luckily with Gus Van Sant’s Milk he avoids the traps and with a wonderful performance by Sean Penn, the film blends a bit of documentary with solid performances and a bit of style to create a film that is powerful and

A Stark 48 Hours with a Suicide Bomber (rated 4 stars)

2008-12-14T16:37:00.001-04:00

Day Night Day Nightby Julia LoktevIn Julia Loktev’s Day Night Day Night we accompany a woman who is a suicide bomber as she prepares. With any politics stripped away and with a minimalist and intimate style, it’s an unsettling, tense and very human look at a character in an extreme situation. Shot an edited in a style that is simple, close and claustrophobic, it becomes increasingly gripping and

A Sprawling Dysfunctional Family Melodrama (rated 5 stars)

2008-11-09T21:19:00.001-04:00

Un Conte de Noelby Arnaud DesplechinArnaud Desplechin’s Un Conte de Noël (A Christmas Story) is filled with characters and moments that are unforgettable. The characters aren’t neccessarily likable, but they are fascinating to watch. Desplechin weaves an intricate plot that pulls the characters together at Christmas. The matriarch played by Catherine Deneuve finds out that she is has cancer that

A Beautiful Look at Horrible Things (rated 4 stars)

2008-11-09T20:35:00.001-04:00

Le bonheur - Criterion Collectionby Agnès VardaAgnes Varda is a gifted and often overlooked filmmaker who was associated with the French New Wave and pioneered many of the techniques and styles later popularized by other members of the movement. In Le Bonheur (Happiness), she paints a strikingly beautiful story of a man who commits adultery. Every frame looks like a painting and she uses her

An Oddly Muted Satire (rated 3 stars)

2008-10-13T13:53:00.001-03:00

How to Lose Friends & Alienate Peopleby Robert B. WeideSometimes a film is like something that is cooked. You can have all of the proper ingredients and when it comes out of the oven it just didn’t work. With “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People”: there are some strong performances, funny moments and a great idea, but overall it just doesn’t work. I love Simon Pegg, but within the script there

A Beautiful Night (rated 5 stars)

2008-10-12T12:46:00.002-03:00

Friday Nightby Claire Denis Claire Denis has a gift for capturing small and beautiful details in her films and Friday Night is simply follows a woman as she leaves her apartment to move in with her boyfriend and drives across Paris during the gridlock of a transit strike when she meets a stranger and spends the evening with him. Telling the story elliptically and with a minimal amount of dialogue

A Subtle Story About Difficult Choices (rated 5 stars)

2008-10-12T12:34:00.001-03:00

Frozen Riverby Courtney HuntWith a powerful performance by Melissa Leo at the centre of the film, Frozen River is an understated look at the choices a woman makes as she tries to make a better life for herself and her children. Set in the winter along the US and Canadian border, it’s the gripping story of how someone gets involved in smuggling people across the border. Shot on location with a

A Watered Down Adaptation (rated 2 stars)

2008-10-12T12:13:00.001-03:00

Blindnessby Fernando MeirellesI really wanted to like Blindness and thought that it was a pretty safe bet with Fernando Meirelles who directed the heart wrenching “City of God”: as well as “The Constant Gardener”: , but it just didn’t work for me. For some reason I never connected with the characters and the film very much felt as if it was designed and constructed by a very large committee.

A Melancholy Dystopian Comedy (rated 4 stars)

2008-10-05T19:29:00.001-03:00

Visioneersby Jared DrakeThey don’t care about pole vaulting. Or dreams.In the debut feature from Jared Drake (with a script cowritten by his brother Brandon), Visioneers there is an odd and melacholy tone, almost like a darker version of “Idiocracy” where it all holds together much better. There is a compelling lack of explanation for most of the absurdity in the film, which is at times very

A Film About A Band That Isn't Here Any More (rated 4 stars)

2008-08-17T19:35:00.001-03:00

Joy DivisionIn Grant Gee’s Joy Division he tells the story of the band and those surrounding it. It’s stylish filmmaking and he pieces together the interviews, photographs, sounds and archival footage skillfully to create a full and moving portrait of a band that only had two albumns before the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. Gee’s previous music documentary about Radiohead and their OK

Sappyfest 2008

2008-08-17T11:15:00.001-03:00

While I really should go to more live music throughout the year, I don’t seem to be able to find the time. Luckily for the past three years I’ve gone to the Sappy Records Music Festival (or Sappyfest ) in Sackville, New Brunswick for my live music fix. It’s an amazing deal with a pass that costs just $60 for three days of music. I think that I saw about half the bands that played, which was about

A Thrilling Transatlantic Adaptation (rated 5 stars)

2008-08-16T20:34:00.001-03:00

Tell No OneI briefly saw a review of Guillaume Canet’s Tell No One and kept my eye out for it, hoping that it would make it to a theatre near me or show up on DVD. Then one day in a bookstore a copy of a novel called “Tell No One” was misplaced on a stack of other books, then I realized that the French film was an adaptation of an American novel. Later that day in my local video store I saw the

A Dark Set of Ethical Dilemmas (rated 4 stars)

2008-07-19T22:00:00.001-03:00

The Dark Knightby Christopher NolanWith so much anticipation, I was excited, but slightly dreading attending The Dark Knight as I was afraid that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. The problem was that I watched the trailers a few times and couldn’t help be start to construct the film in my mind. Luckily the film of the trailer isn’t really the film that I saw.Christopher Nolan (and his