Surrender to the Void

Manhattan

2012-02-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

Directed and starring Woody Allen with a script written by Allen and Marshall Brickman, Manhattan is the story of a comedy writer in his 40s who dates a 17-year old as he falls for his best friend‘s mistress. The film is an ode to Allen’s love of European cinema while maintaining his own brand of neurotic humor set into a stylish romantic comedy-drama. Also starring Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep, Michael Murphy, and Anne Byrne. Manhattan is an evocative yet witty film from Woody Allen.

Isaac Davis (Woody Allen) is a comedy writer trying to write his first novel as he spends part of his time dating a 17-year old drama school student named Tracy (Mariel Hemingway). While going out with Tracy and his friends Yale (Michael Murphy) and Emily (Anne Byrne) where Yale secretly reveals to Isaac that he’s met another woman at a party he wants Isaac to meet. Isaac is already dealing with a book his ex-wife Jill (Meryl Streep) is about to release that includes candid details about their marriage as she’s become a lesbian. Isaac meets Yale’s lover Mary Wilke (Diane Keaton) as their first meeting doesn’t go off well due to Mary’s snobbish comments about art and Ingmar Bergman. The two would meet again at an Equals Rights Amendment party where the two begin to start a friendship.

While Isaac continues to date Tracy and hang out with Mary, Tracy reveals she’s going to London to study acting as they move into a new apartment together that turned out to be a bad idea. Isaac’s growing attraction to Mary rises as her relationship with Yale is starting to fall apart. Isaac decides to make his move towards Mary and break-up with Tracy so he can get his chance to win over Mary. At a holiday with Yale and Emily, Isaac thinks he has everything going for him until Mary reveals some news that would devastate him.

The film is about a comedy writer’s love life as it is complicated by the appearance of his friend’s mistress whom he falls for. That’s pretty much a simple summation of the plot as it also explores a man who is struggling to find some idea of love at a place he loves that is also starting to change. The screenplay that Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman creates is a study of a man trying to juggle his love life while is also dealing with what his ex-wife will reveal in an upcoming book. The script is also very loose in its approach to narrative and dialogue as it allows Allen to create a story where it reflects on a man’s love for not just women but New York City itself.

Allen’s direction is truly mesmerizing in the way he captures New York City as a place of beauty of as if it is presented at a different time. Shot entirely in black-and-white, the film adds a beauty that is very timeless to its look as well as atmosphere where it could’ve been told in a different time yet things are also changing as the city is a character in the film. With these amazing tracking shots for scenes where Isaac would often run around the city or he takes Tracy or Mary to museums to look at art. The way Allen allows the 2:35:1 theatrical aspect ratio for widescreen gives him a lot of room to breathe and widen his compositions. Notably as he uses that framing device to create these gorgeous shots of the cities including shots of the NYC freeway to capture the feel of the movement that occurs. The overall work Allen does in the film is truly outstanding as it is one of his key work in his revered career.

Cinematographer Gordon Willis does a brilliant job with the film‘s black-and-white cinematography that adds a truly lush yet stylish look to the film such as the dark scene where Isaac and Mary walk into a room full of planets. The approach to lighting is exquisite in the way that scene is shot while the nighttime and the famous Queensboro bridge shot have an air of beauty that really defies description. Editor Susan E. Morse does a fantastic job with the editing as she employs stylish rhythmic cuts and fantastic montages, such as the opening and closing scenes, to create a dazzling array of images of New York City. Production designer Mel Bourne and set decorator Robert Drumheller does an excellent job with the set pieces created such as the apartment Isaac stays in with Tracy early in the film as well as the shabby new one he gets in the second act along with the set piece of the planets that is a joy to watch.

Costume designer Albert Wolsky does a nice job with the costumes as it‘s mostly kept casual for the characters with Tracy sporting a more youthful and mature look while Mary has a more refined yet quirky look to her wardrobe. Sound editor Dan Sable does a terrific job with the sound to capture the raucous energy of the city as well as the intimacy of some of the interior location that occurs. The soundtrack largely consists of the music of George Gershwin, notably Rhapsody in Blue, as it plays to emphasize the sense of drama and fantasy conveyed throughout the film.

The casting by Juliet Taylor is superb as it includes some appearances from famed NYC politician Bella Azbug as well as Karen Allen and David Rasche as TV actors that Isaac works at. Other notable small roles include Wallace Shawn as Mary’s ex-husband, Karen Ludwig as Jill’s girlfriend Connie and Damion Scheller as Isaac and Mary’s son. Meryl Streep is very good as Isaac’s ambitious ex-wife Jill as is Anne Byrne as Yale’s kind wife Emily who enjoys the presence of the young Tracy. Michael Murphy is stellar as Isaac’s friend Yale who is trying to juggle his own affairs as he becomes desperate over his relationship with Mary to be more than just an affair.

Mariel Hemingway is wonderful as the young Tracy who enjoys Isaac’s company and his wisdom while wanting to prove something to herself as Hemingway displays a great maturity to her character which includes a very devastating break-up scene. Diane Keaton is excellent as the culturally-interested Mary who befriends Isaac as she becomes fascinated by him and New York City as she brings a calm sense of humor and understated approach to drama to her character. Finally, there’s Woody Allen in a fantastic performance as Isaac. While it’s another variation of his nebbish character, it does give Allen the chance to create a character who is trying to find love and often do things while his approach to humor is more restrained than usual as it’s one of his finest performances.

Manhattan is a rich and enjoyable film from Woody Allen as it features an outstanding ensemble that includes Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep, and Michael Murphy. For anyone that is into the works of Woody Allen, this film is pretty much essential while it’s also one of his best work. For newcomers, it’s a worthy introduction to what he’s able to do as a filmmaker rather than as an actor. In the end, Manhattan is spectacular and intoxicating film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: (What’s Up, Tiger-Lily) - (Take the Money & Run) - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) - (Sleeper) - (Love & Death) - Annie Hall - (Interiors) - (Stardust Memories) - (A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy) - (Zelig) - (Broadway Danny Rose) - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - (Radio Days) - (September) - (Another Woman) - New York Stories-Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - (Alice) - (Shadow & Fog) - (Husbands & Wives) - (Manhattan Murder Mystery) - (Bullets Over Broadway) - (Might Aphrodite) - (Everyone Says I Love You) - Deconstructing Harry - (Celebrity) - (Sweet & Lowdown) - (Small Time Crooks) - (The Curse of the Jade Scorpion) - (Hollywood Endings) - (Anything Else) - (Melinda & Melinda) - Match Point - Scoop - (Cassandra’s Dream) - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - (Whatever Works) - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - (Nero Fiddled)

Lovely & Amazing

2012-02-15T19:13:00.000-08:00

Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, Lovely & Amazing is the story of a family of women and a child as they each deal with all sorts of insecurities as they deal age, body image, and other issues. The film is an exploration of the lives of three different women and a pre-teen African-American child as they all try to figure out their place in the world. Starring Brenda Blethyn, Catherine Keener, Emily Mortimer, Raven Goodwin, James LeGros, Clark Gregg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dermont Mulroney, Aunjanue Ellis, and Michael Nouri. Lovely & Amazing is a poignant yet heartbreaking comedy-drama from Nicole Holofcener.

Jane Marks (Brenda Blethyn) is a middle-aged woman is set to have plastic surgery in hopes to look younger. While her adult daughters Michelle (Catherine Keener) and Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer) aren’t fond of the idea as is their adopted pre-teen African-American sister Annie (Raven Goodwin). They all are hoping for the best as Jane falls for her surgeon Dr. Crane (Michael Nouri) during the procedure. Michelle meanwhile, is dealing with issues with her artistic pursuits as it’s not bringing income to her family as she is at odds with her husband Bill (Clark Gregg). For the aspiring actress Elizabeth, she is still dealing with her physical insecurities as a photo shoot for her was a disaster for her while her relationship with boyfriend Paul (James LeGros).

With Jane wants the overweight and troublesome Annie to find a positive African-American role model in a swimming coach in Lorraine (Aunjanue Ellis). Annie has a hard time dealing with the fact that she’s an African-American while her older sisters try to help her out as she would often play with Michelle’s daughter Maddy (Ashlyn Rose). Unable to get money for her art, Michelle takes a job working at a one-hour photo shop as she befriends its 17-year old manager Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal). Elizabeth’s acting career is starting to take off as she gains an audition with film star Kevin McCabe (Dermont Mulroney) which didn’t go well though McCabe thought she was good as they later went out for dinner.

When Jane’s surgery leaves her in a coma, the sisters all try to deal with what’s happening as Michelle embarks on a fling with Jordan while Annie starts to act out. With the premiere of Elizabeth’s new movie is happening, the sisters attend as they would all face their own problems about themselves and their mother.

The film is about four different women in different age groups and situations as they all try to come to terms with who they all are. With each hoping to make something of themselves, they would also face the certain realities of their own situations as it becomes harder for them to deal with. In reality, the film is a character study of sorts as well as displaying the kind of insecurities that women go through. For some, it’s a physical insecurity. For others, it something much more as Nicole Holofcener delve into these issues without going into a heavy-handed route by letting the audience figure out these characters.

For Jane, she’s a woman who is already a mother to two adult women as she is hoping to look and feel young in the surgery. What happens would force her to endure something unexpected as she also tries to flirt with her surgeon. For the eldest daughter Michelle, she is a woman who feels like her marriage is on the outs due to her unkind husband as she is also a kid of sorts who likes to watch cartoons and eat cereals with her daughter. Elizabeth is a woman with a nice figure but feels very insecure about herself as she would often take in stray dogs while her boyfriend becomes very uninterested. In the young Annie, she is a young African-American child living with a White family as she has a hard time dealing with her own racial identity while she just acts out and is becoming overweight.

The script allows Holofcener to figure these people out as they all want something to identify with while Michelle and Elizabeth each engage into different affairs due to their unhappy love life. Yet, the men they would be with for these affairs are very different individuals who appreciate who they are although they’re clearly not the right kind of guys to be with. Still, Holofcener does make them complex enough to be interesting men while maintaining her focus on the women as they try to figure themselves out.

Holofcener’s direction is truly engaging in the way she presents the film although many of the shots and compositions are pretty straightforward. Despite that lack of style, Holofcener does make up for it by being very up-front on the film’s dramatic moments while knowing when to put humor in a few scenes. One notable scene that is very confrontational involves a fully-nude Elizabeth asking Kevin McCabe what is wrong with her body. McCabe would be reluctantly honest as it is one of the most uncomfortable moments ever presented on film. It’s a moment in the film where nudity is allowed to help tell a story rather than just be a sex scene or an excuse just to have nudity.

Other moments of Holofcener’s direction involves the Annie character as this young girl is definitely lost in her identity as Holofcener presents these subtle moments where she pretends to play dead while swimming in a pool. Holofcener presents Annie as a lost child who is unsure about who she is as she would be quite up-front about everything as she curses and likes to eat a lot of food. There’s a scene where she and Michelle have a moment as Annie asks if she likes her straightened hair. Michelle reveals her answer in a direct yet calm manner as she understands what Annie is going through without really saying more. It’s these little moments of drama and humor that makes the film so much more than just a typical comedy-drama as Holofcener creates a very broad yet heartwarming film.

Cinematographer Harold Bosmajian does an excellent job with the film’s low-key digital photography that is a bit grainy but very entrancing for its simple look. Notably in the nighttime interiors where it doesn’t need lots of light while maintaining a sense of mood for the dramatic moments of the film. Editor Robert Frazer does a nice job with the editing by playing it a bit straight while utilizing a few jump-cuts and rhythmic cuts for some of the intensity of the film’s dramatic moments. Production designer Devorah Herbert and art director Missy Parker do some terrific work in creating the set piece such as the homemade artwork that Michelle makes as well as the look of Jane’s clean, spacious home.

Costume designer Vanessa Vogel does a very good job with the costumes as a lot of it is quite casual for the men and women while it also includes some designer stuff that Elizabeth wears including the sheer dress she wears in the opening scene. Sound editor Kelly Oxford does some fine work in the sound editing from the intimacy of some of the locations that occur to the raucous atmosphere of the pool hall where Lorraine runs the swimming school. The music by Craig Richey is quite remarkable for its keyboard-driven score with folk-driven pieces to play up the drama that occurs in the film. Music supervisor Amy Rosen creates a soundtrack that is very low-key as it includes a lot of indie acts like Pillbox, Josh Rouse, Elwood, and Bleu.

The casting by Jeanne McCarthy is remarkable for the ensemble that is created as it includes small but notable performances from Christine Mourad as Elizabeth’s agent Cindy, Ashlynn Rose as Bill and Michelle’s daughter Maddy, Dreya Webber as Michelle’s friend Donna, James LeGros as Elizabeth’s cynical and disinterested boyfriend Paul, and Clark Gregg as Michelle’s smarmy and unsupportive husband Bill. Other noteworthy supporting roles include Michael Nouri as Jane’s attractive surgeon Dr. Crane, Dermont Mulroney as big-time film star Kevin McCabe, Aunjunae Ellis as Annie’s kind but concerned swimming coach Lorraine, and Jake Gyllenhaal as Michelle’s teenage photo-shop manager Jordan whom she would have a brief affair with.

Raven Goodwin is superb as the young African-American child Annie who is confused by her identity while acting out as she deals with her mother’s surgery as it’s a very raw yet charming performance for the young actress. Brenda Blethyn is excellent as the humorous and excited Jane who is hoping to look and feel young while trying to help her daughters with their own situations. Emily Mortimer is great as the insecure Elizabeth who is trying to get an acting career going while dealing with her own physical flaws as Mortimer delivers one of her most vulnerable moments by going full-on nude in front of a guy as it’s a truly confrontational yet unsettling performance from the British actress. Finally, there’s Catherine Keener in a brilliant performance as Michelle who tries to find success as an artist while dealing with a failing marriage as she also has to help out her other sisters as it’s a witty yet touching performance from Keener.

Lovely & Amazing is a spectacular yet smart film from Nicole Holofcener. Featuring an amazing ensemble cast led by Catherine Keener, Emily Mortimer, Brenda Blethyn, and Raven Goodwin. It’s a film that doesn’t stray into conventions about women and their own issues about their physicality, age, and identity while it’s also one that is quite strong. Even if the characters are flawed but real enough for people to be engaged by. Lovely & Amazing is a rich and poignant drama that is told with a sense of wit and realism better than its creator Nicole Holofcener.

Nicole Holofcener Films: Walking & Talking - (Friends with Money) - (Please Give)

Walking and Talking

2012-02-15T13:22:00.001-08:00

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 11/5/03 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, Walking and Talking is the story of two female friends whose lives are changed by the engagement of another. With one dealing with a sick cat as well as her lackluster love life, the other deals with the transition of becoming a married woman. The film explores the world of female relationships and the men that surrounds them in this witty yet engrossing film. Starring Catherine Keener, Anne Heche, Todd Field, Kevin Corrigan, Randall Batinkoff, and Liev Schrieber. Walking and Talking is a superbly funny film from Nicole Holofcener.

Since being friends since childhood, Amelia (Catherine Keener) and Laura (Anne Heche) are in their 30s as their lives are set to change. Amelia is dealing with the illness of her cat Big Jeans while Laura is a doctor who is dealing with a disturbed patient (Vincent Pastore) who claims to see the devil. Amelia's ex-boyfriend Andrew (Liev Schrieber) reveals that he's been talking to a woman from California as Amelia befriends a video store clerk named Bill (Kevin Corrigan). After convincing her therapist (Joseph Siravo) that she no longer needs therapy, Amelia's life is rocked when Laura announced she's engaged to her longtime boyfriend Frank (Todd Fields). Amelia is in shock as her date with Bill doesn't go well while she turns to Andrew for help to deal with the news.

Laura meanwhile, ponders about what is ahead for marriage as she finds herself going to play with an actor named Peter (Randall Batinkoff) whom she met earlier at a restaurant he worked at. Depressed over the news of her cat's illness and the news of Laura's engagement, Amelia goes on another date with Bill as the night ends in disaster when Bill hears Laura on the answering machine supposedly talking about him. Amelia wonders what happened as she hangs out with Frank at his apartment while Laura sees Peter in his play. After hanging out with Andrew and his parents for a meal, Amelia learns that the woman Andrew has been talking to was a phone sex client. Things worsen when Amelia confronts Bill about what happened that night as she was shocked to learn about Laura's phone message.

Going to a weekend getaway at a lake house, Amelia joins Frank and Laura to the house where Frank wants to have the wedding. Yet, Laura is bothered by the mole on Frank's shoulder thinking its malignant as Frank leaves where the two women are bothered by some obscene phone calls. With Andrew helping out, they all return to New York City as Amelia becomes depressed over some events as Laura has second thoughts about the upcoming wedding. The two longtime friends start to bicker over their own decisions as each wonder about their own role as women and the men in their lives.

What makes Walking and Talking an enjoyable, light-hearted comedy-drama is that Nicole Holofcener balances the boundaries between comedy and drama throughout the film though at times, there's a few predictable moments. Holofcener deserves total credit for bringing in hilarious scenes as well as powerful, emotional drama as the actors play real people instead of the exaggeration Hollywood films will tend to do for some actors. Holofcener even brings a glowing look to her film with cinematographer Michael Spiller, who captures the nice, summer look of trees and the streets that is so New York City, it couldn't be imitated by another city. Another great noted factor about the film is the music ranging Yo La Tengo, Liz Phair, Joan Osborne, Joe Henry, some obscure acts like Sea and Cake and Catherine, and Billy Bragg, who does most of the music and the film's score that just jangles on through the entire film.

Catherine Keener, alone, is the film's best performance as she plays a desperate woman trying to find her niche in the world of relationships as she ponders her own misery without being overly melodramatic and being funny when the time is right. Anne Heche is excellent as Laura, who plays this confused woman who is about to get married but is wondering if she still exists in the singles life as Heche brings a nice charm to the character.

Todd Field is wonderful as the more laid-back Frank who plays the kind of guy who is cool to his girlfriend's best friend while he delivers a few hilarious lines, notably the "vagina music" line. Liev Schreiber is brilliant as the compassionate, porn-loving Andrew who brings out the film's more hilarious moments while he even displays his dramatic touches in a later scene with Andrew's parents. Kevin Corrigan is funny as the monster-loving Bill, who loves to talk about horror films and videos while he gets extra cool points for a wearing a My Bloody Valentine t-shirt (the band, not the movie). Also worth noting is Vincent Pastore who is hilarious as the devil-seeing patient and watch out for Allison Janney as one of Amelia's neighbors.

Walking and Talking is a fun, heartwarming comedy-drama from Nicole Holofcener with an excellent story, superb soundtrack, and an amazing cast led by Catherine Keener. It's a film that is very engaging in exploring the anxiety of women in their 30s as they deal with changes in their life. It's also a film that strays from convention of usual female-driven films as it allows the women to be very real as well as flawed in their decisions about life. In the end, Walking and Talking is an extraordinary film from Nicole Holofcener.

Nicole Holofcener Films: Lovely & Amazing - (Friends with Money) - (Please Give)

Favorite Films #5: Chungking Express

2012-02-14T12:09:00.000-08:00

Dreaming About Love, Payoffs, & Chef Salad in Hong Kong

A flurry of slow-motion images is shown as a policeman is chasing a criminal throughout the cramped yet intoxicating Chungking Mansions in Hong Kong. In his chase, he bumps into a woman with a blond wig as they briefly look at each other only to meet again sometime later. Through these colorful yet discordant images comes something that isn’t seen very much to Western audiences as it showed a new side to what Hong Kong cinema is. Presenting these images is Wong Kar-Wai who gives a new alternative to Asian cinema with his third film called Chungking Express (Chung Hing Sam Lam).

If one was to sum up what Hong Kong cinema was about, it would come down to the action film genre depending on what audiences wanted. On the one corner, there’s the martial arts films that would star the likes of Bruce Lee, Sammo Hung, and Jackie Chan that would also delve into period epics. On the other corner, there’s the more gritty action films with choreographed gunfights that were helmed by John Woo. While Hong Kong cinema also had films of other genres like comedy and drama, not many of these films broke out internationally as the action and martial arts films continued to be popular outside of Hong Kong.

When Chungking Express was released in 1994, it was the film that became a major hit in Hong Kong where it would win Kar-Wai an award for best director at the Hong Kong Film Awards a year later. One of the people outside of the Hong Kong industry who was extremely impressed by the film was Quentin Tarantino. Already becoming a very popular figure in American independent cinema with 1994’s Pulp Fiction, Tarantino was so impressed by the film that he gave it a U.S. release in early 1996 where it didn’t really go anywhere despite some enthusiastic reaction from the critics. For those who were fortunate enough to see it in that limited U.S. release, it felt like a breath of fresh air as they had seen something different that wasn’t a martial arts film or an action film.

Chungking Express is a film with two different stories set in two different parts of Hong Kong that involved two different cops and two different women. In the first part of a film, a young police officer is dealing with a break-up as he would meet an older woman with a blonde wig who is going through troubles of her own. The second part is about another cop who is also going through a break-up as a new snack bar counter falls for him. These two different stories with different tones and a visual look rarely intersect throughout the film as it indicated something that is very different to people who hadn’t seen a lot of Hong Kong films outside of the action/martial arts genre.

While Wong Kar-Wai did forge his career in those genres as a screenwriter, he was also someone who had a love for the films of the French New Wave as well as the American films of the 1970s. Finally forging his career as a filmmaker with 1988’s As Tears Go By, Kar-Wai would use the crime drama in that film but also add a look that was very colorful and ravishing. His 1990 follow-up Days of Being Wild would be a turning point in Kar-Wai forging his own identity as a filmmaker. By creating characters who are flawed and melancholic, it had Kar-Wai reach out to an audience that felt that there weren’t being films being made about them. Though Days of Being Wild wasn’t a commercial hit, it did create some buzz as the film would also be Kar-Wai’s first collaboration with Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle.

The film would feature some of Kar-Wai regular actors that includes Maggie Cheung, the late Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Carina Lau, and Jacky Cheung as they would all appear in Kar-Wai’s next film in the martial arts epic entitled Ashes of Time. The film would become one of the most notorious box office disasters due to the film’s troubled production as it was shot for more than a year in the desert of mainland China. Needing a break from the on-going post-production, Kar-Wai would create a story that was much looser and didn’t involve an extravagant budget.

With Christopher Doyle, longtime editor/art director/costume designer William Chang, music composer Frankie Chan, and cinematographer Andrew Lau, Kar-Wai chose to go for a low-budget, improvisational approach to the film. With Kar-Wai regular Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Hong Kong film legend Brigitte Lin, who had also appeared in Ashes of Time, Kar-Wai also took a risk by casting a couple of pop singers in Taiwan’s Takeshi Kaneshiro and Faye Wong in other lead roles.

While a third story was meant to be part of the film, that story would end up being another film of its own in 1995’s Fallen Angels. The two stories Kar-Wai would create for Chungking Express would be very different as it involve two very different cops in very different situations involving women. Known for not writing scripts and only writing ideas as guidelines, it is an approach to storytelling that a few directors can do so well like British filmmaker Mike Leigh and American auteur Terrence Malick. Notably the latter in whom Kar-Wai was influenced by in terms of creating unique characters that are very flawed. What Kar-Wai does differently from Leigh and Malick is that he brought his own Asian sensibilities where he can go into dark places but also put some humor into the some of those dark places.

The film’s first half that features Kaneshiro’s cop 223 who is musing over his break-up with this young woman as he obsesses about eating pineapples that is expired on May 1, which is his birthday. While on the job in the opening chase scene, he would meet this mysterious woman with a blonde wig who is going through her own issues. Through these very vibrant and energetic scenes played to the tune of Indian music, she is trying to organize a drug smuggling operation involving Indian immigrants where it all goes wrong. Was it because the people she had hired got lost or they had different orders from her boss just to get her in trouble?

Well, she has to take matters into her own hands into finding the smugglers as she had to do things like kidnapping a shopkeeper’s child to get answers. Instead, none of the things didn’t work as she later meets this young cop at a bar where they chat for a bit and later stay at a hotel where she sleeps and he eats and watches TV. He would also clean her shoes as he leaves while she is asleep to go out for a jog where he receives a call from his beeper. It’s the mysterious woman wishing him a happy birthday as it’s an indication that things will be good for him. The mysterious woman however, does manage to take care of things and then disappear.

What is very evident about the film’s first half isn’t just dark tone of it that matches with slow images of the sky and colorful yet entrancing cinematography done mostly by Andrew Lau. It is the pacing of that section of the film that is very intriguing in what Kar-Wai and co-editor William Chang devise. Along with these flurries of frame-speed images where the action is quite jerky and has these strange, slow rhythms. It is part of what defines Kar-Wai’s work as the editing and pacing of that section is very unconventional. At first, these unconventional approach to the pacing will confuse audiences because there’s not a lot that goes on and the pacing can feel like it’s lagging at times. On a second viewing and through another, the pacing starts to make more sense since it’s about a young man wandering at night about his own break-up and meeting this older, mysterious woman.

With a soundtrack that is a mixture of smooth jazz, reggae, Indian, and the hypnotic yet eerie ambient score of Frankie Chan and Roel A. Garcia, the first half plays up to the unconventional tone of the film. Notably as it is told from the perspective of Cop 223 who laments over his break-up and the night he went through as he is telling it in a voice-over narration. Still, it’s also told from the mysterious woman’s perspective as she’s doesn’t have a lot of dialogue in her own individual scenes. Yet, Brigitte Lin’s performance is definitely hypnotic right to the final moment where she pulls off her wig and leaves. Though her face and true hair isn’t really shown as she is often seen sporting red sunglasses. It does leave a lasting impression as the film would be the last major work of Lin as she would retire from the world of film despite making very small appearances in a couple of features up till 2001.

Throughout the first half, the one character that appears in both sections is a snack bar manager, played by Chen Jinquan, who would tell this young cop about a young girl he wants to set her up with. Cop 223 isn’t sure as he would then bump into this new girl working at the snack bar where their meeting would be similar to the one he would have this mysterious woman early in the film. This is where the two halves would finally meet but Cop 223 would reveal via narration that this new girl isn’t interested in him at all. Instead, it’s towards another man as her favorite song in the Mamas and the Papas’ California Dreamin’ is played.

With the exception of the snack bar manager, the characters of all four films rarely interacts although the Faye character in the second half does make a brief appearance in the first half as she is buying a big stuffed animal while the mysterious woman waits outside of the shop. By the time this new story appears, the film’s tone and look starts to change. Whereas this first half was this dark yet moody piece that is shot mostly at night. The second half of the story would be this very loose, brighter story that is shot on both day and night as it is also a much more comical and romantic story.

Why would Kar-Wai do something like this to change the entire tone of the film from this dark and entrancing crime story into a story that is very kooky and upbeat with very different characters? Well, there aren’t really any answers as these two different stories do offer something for everyone. If someone wants to see some stylistic violence. That’s what the film’s first half has to offer. If someone wants to go for a kooky romance that is very vibrant. That’s what the film’s second half is for.

The film’s second half is about this cop, played by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, who is a beat cop that often frequents into this snack bar order the same thing including something for his stewardess girlfriend. Working at this snack bar is this quirky young woman named Faye who loves to listen to the Mamas & the Papas’ California Dreamin’. She would give his orders quietly while doing all sorts of things until one day, he orders something different as he just drinks a Coke and she stares at him. Then on another particular day, the cop’s stewardess girlfriend (Valerie Chow) arrives with a letter as she gives it to the snack bar’s manager. Everyone including Faye reads it as it includes a copy of a boarding pass and a key.

Cop 663 however, has chosen a different beat and time to work which would allow Faye to break into his apartment and explore everything where she would alter parts of his life. The apartment that Cop 663 lives in is actually the apartment that cinematographer Christopher Doyle lives in as he shot the film’s second half. Doyle’s photography in the second half is far more vibrant and brighter as a lot of it is shot in the daytime. The nighttime and exterior scenes, notably the candlelight scene when the power at the bar goes out, are quite exquisite while maintaining some of the hypnotic look of the film’s first half. The camera work is also looser as Doyle goes for a more fluid, hand-held style.

With this approach, Doyle and Kar-Wai gets a chance to shoot inside the apartment in a scene where Cop 663 is inside thinking that his ex-girlfriend is back as Faye keeps hiding in various places. Through these visits to his apartment where she changes everything that includes a wonderful scene where she gives the home a makeover to a cover of the Cranberries’ Dreams that is sung by Faye Wong. It’s a very playful scene that emphasizes the eccentricity of Faye as she is pining for this cop.

There’s performances in that film that are brilliant but none of them could capture the natural energy and charm that Faye Wong possesses in this film. While Wong is more famous as an Asian pop singer with a few film and TV appearances in her career. Her performance in this film was truly unlike anything at the time. The sense of quirkiness as well as sporting a pixie-like haircut felt new although some would claim that the Faye character would become part of the prototype for the much-maligned stock character known as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. While Faye does have those quirky characteristics and charming persona that can make men fall in love with her. What deviates her from those aspects of the MPDG stereotype is what is happening to the cop.

Yes, he’s enduring a break-up and is trying to move on by doing his job as he would often bump into Faye as she is trying to drag a big basket of vegetables as the two would chat and stuff. Then, he starts to suspect things when the sardines he eats taste very differently as he also wonders why he has a new bar of soap and such. He thinks that his ex-girlfriend has been appearing until he eventually learns the truth as he asks for the letter and an even bigger surprise to Faye. The big question is what will Faye do? Particularly as there’s people in the snack bar including the manager who is aware of the sparks between the two.

The cop sets a date as he waits for Faye at a bar but she doesn’t show up as he leaves while wondering about the boarding pass that his ex-girlfriend has given him as it’s ruined in tatters and such. Yet, the answer isn’t unveiled as Faye would finally revealed what happened that night in a voice-over through the flurries of people walking around her as she sits still. Then, the picture changes as Faye is shown in a different light with a different hair style and clothes as it’s revealed what she becomes. She reveals that it’s been a year since that date as she returns to Hong Kong to learn that the cop has bought the snack bar as the two talk as he is playing California Dreamin’. The ending is a bit more open as no one knows what happens to the cop and Faye. Do they get together or is it going to be another playful game of chasing one another?

It’s the kind of film that doesn’t give any easy answers or any conventional ideas about love and relationships. It doesn’t feature traditional male and female personas that is often typical with American Hollywood films. It has male characters who are quite sensitive and aloof but also can be a little tough when they’re in action. It has female characters who are a bit romantic but have their own sense of individuality. This is why Wong Kar-Wai is among one of the best filmmakers working today. He creates characters that do more than what their stock types can do.

If anything, Chungking Express is probably one of the best date movies ever made. It’s got enough action and dark overtones that is very entrancing yet it also has this very offbeat sense of humor that can bring laughs. The romantic element is very intoxicating as men ponder about their own faults while the women show that there’s a whole lot more than the girlfriends they’ve had. Wong Kar-Wai does that and more where it’s OK to eat nearly expired pineapples, talk to a wet rag, and dance around to a Cranberries cover inside someone’s apartment. Chungking Express is Wong Kar-Wai’s masterpiece for the way he can create two different stories and actually make both stories be one entire singular film for all to enjoy.

Chungking Express

Roma

2012-02-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 8/12/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Federico Fellini and co-written with Bernardino Zapponi, Roma tells two stories based on Fellini's own life. The first narrative is about Fellini's life as a young man in the early 1940s while a second narrative is about a director making a film about his beloved city. With appearances from Peter Gonzalez as the young Fellini along with such longtime associates as Anna Magnani, Gore Vidal, Feodor Chaliapin, and Fellini as himself. Roma is a charming, delightful love-letter to the city where Fellini made a name for himself.

It's the 1930s as a group of school kids are being taught by the world of Rome and its rich history. For a young boy named Federico, he would discover the world of Rome through the medium of the cinema. The boy’s life was changed as by 1940, he arrived in Rome where he sees the city in all of its wonders. Living with a large family in an apartment, he sees the culture that is Rome. Now it's 1971 and Rome has changed but not for the better. The real Federico Fellini is staging a shoot on a traffic jam to Rome where his film crew captures the rainy city on the road with shots of ruins and other places.

Fellini is now being asked into his approach into making his film about Rome, some are believing that in showing the bad side, it will make people to not go. Yet, there are those who feel tired of the commercial look of the city as the times are now changing. Even as Fellini recalls his own experience in a theater he once frequented to. During the war back in the early 40s, the young Fellini was a regular seeing performances and acts on stage including a man named Alvaro doing a Fred Astaire routine. Yet, despite heckles from a few unruly men, the show was always wonderful. Unfortunately, it's the middle of the war as Fellini and the patrons are forced to hide underground during an air raid. When it's over, everyone believes the worst is over but unfortunately, the sirens are heard yet again as the young man is forced to watch horror from afar.

Back in the 70s, there is a disdain for so-called hippie generation as Fellini again recalls his own memories of free love vs. paid love as he remembers the underground world of brothels from the working-class brothels that featured semi-attractive women to the more posh brothels that Fellini and a friend attended that were both ran by women. The world that Fellini remembers is very different to what his film crew saw as they went underground where they discovered a 2000-year old house buried under the city with its paintings starting to fade. Back in the 40s, Fellini attends a ceremony with an old princess that becomes this exotic stage presentation concerning the Pope while returning back in time to see how the city has changed through the times.

While the film doesn't have much of a plot, it is however a love-letter to the city of Rome. While a lot of scenes in the film's flashback sequences are based on Fellini's own life, the film is about Rome through its days as an Empire to the early years in the 20th Century where it was a town of promise. When the film shifts through the 1970s, it is a very different city as tourists arrive to see its wonders but not the reality. Even as its surrounded by hippies and its idealism, the idea of what is to be Roman seems lost through the changing times as modernism through technology and things has arrived. While the film lags a bit due to pacing issues, Fellini makes the most of it through his eye-wielding vision and lavish presentation about the old times. The film also includes what has to be one of the best endings involving the great landmarks of Rome itself.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno brings a wonderful look to the film from the naturalistic look early in the film to the extravagant lighting in some of the film's Rome sequences, notably the interiors to shots of the city itself. Rotunno's camera captures the beauty and also decaying look of Rome with its wonderful exteriors. Production designer Danilo Donati and set decorator Andrea Fantacci also do a wonderful job with the film's unique look from the stage designs of the variety show in the theater to the runway show young Fellini sees near the end of the film that is filled with amazement. Donati also does the film's costumes that are just as lavish and exotic as its director. Editor Ruggero Mastroianni brings some excellent cutting, especially in shifting sequences to convey the film's unconventional structure. Sound mixer Renato Cadueri also works to convey the film’s atmosphere in the sequences, notably the air raid sirens in one sequence to the film's ending.

Longtime collaborator Nino Rota brings a variety of music to the film ranging from traditional, Italian folk music to big-band 40s as well as some of his own orchestral work. Rota's score is filled with magic and elegance to convey the romanticism of Rome in the film's early sequences to the loss of that innocence through its 70s sequence. It's one of the film's finer highlights though it's minor compared to his other work with Fellini.

The film's cast is largely an ensemble with very few people standing out. The only actors who do stand out are Peter Gonzales as the 18-year old Fellini and Stefano Mayore as the boy Fellini. Those performances are very memorable and joyful in emphasizing the innocence of Fellini from boyhood to manhood. Other performances that included Pia De Doses as a princess and Renato Giovannoli as a cardinal in the runway scene are memorable while cameos from writer Gore Vidal, Italian actress Anna Magnani, Alvaro Vitali as a Fred Astaire impersonator, Feodor Chaliapin, and in the rarely-seen, longer Italian version, Alberto Sordi and Marcello Mastroianni. The film also includes cameos from then-unknowns like Dennis Christopher and Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson as hippies.

While this might be considered to be minor Fellini in comparison to some of his other, earlier films, Roma still has something to offer from the great Italian director. Despite a lack of a plot, standout performances, or lagging pacing issues, it's a film that is enjoyable to watch. Even for those interested in the city of Rome and how Fellini sees it. Yet, it is still a film that Fellini fans might enjoy, even some of the references that relate to his other films. In the end, Roma is a delightful love-letter to the city of Rome by the always interesting Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) - (The White Sheik) - I, Vitelloni - (L'amore in Citta-Un'agenzia matrimoinale) - La Strada - (Il Bidone) - Nights of Cabiria - (La Dolce Vita - (Boccaccio '70-Le tentatzoni di Dottor Antonio) - 8 1/2 - Juliet of the Spirits - (Histoires extraordinaires-Toby Dammit) - (Fellini: A Director's Notebook) - Fellini Satyricon - (I Clowns) - (Amarcord) - (Casanova) - (Orchestra Rehearsal) - (City of Women) - (And the Ship Sails On) - (Ginger and Fred) - (Intervista) - (The Voice of the Moon)

Fellini Satyricon

2012-02-13T12:24:00.001-08:00

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 8/9/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Based on Gaius Petronius' Satyricon, Fellini Satyricon is a surreal film about Nero's reign of the Roman Empire from the perspective of two young men as they would also witness its fall. Directed by Federico Fellini and written with Bernardo Zapponi, the film is an extravagant yet surreal take on Petronius' story with a whole lot of strange imagery and fragmented storytelling. Starring Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, Max Born, Capucine, Alain Cuny, and Joseph Wheeler. Fellini Satyricon is a film that emphasizes on what Fellini is all about, style over substance.

Angered by the theft of his slave boy Gitone (Max Born), Encolpio (Martin Potter) tries to find his friend Ascilto (Hiram Keller), who sold Gitone to an actor named Vernacchio (Fanulla). Gitone doesn't seem to mind being the center of attention to Vernacchio's decadent stage play but Encolpio wasn't pleased. After a lot of demands and humiliation, Encolpio gets Gitone back as they return to the seedy streets towards their home where Ascilto makes a deal to get Gitone back on his own. Encolpio is distraught by the loss but has little time to mourn when an earthquake in his home occurs and everything is lost.

Then, he is taken away to another world with a poet Eumolpo (Salvo Randone) who takes him to a world of decadence led by an emperor named Trimalchio (Mario Romagnoli) who thrives on excess and extravagance. After a long party that ends with his own mock funeral, Encolpio and Ascilto are taken away where Encolpio becomes a slave and later wedded to another emperor named Lichas (Alain Cuny). Things at first seems great until the ship they're on is captured by an army as Encolpio and Ascilto run into the home of a couple dead by suicide (Joseph Wheeler & Lucia Bose).

Encolpio makes a sudden discover as he believes that he will be cured by a hermaphrodite creature. The two along with another man capture the creature but the mission ultimately fails as Encolpio is suddenly the center of attention in a prank involving a maze as his own sickness fails him. Seeking to find a cure, he hopes to go to a sorceress for help only to see that he ends up making a sacrifice through this strange world.

Since the story of Satyricon is actually a story filled with fragments, it's no surprise that Fellini approached the film in an unconventional manner. Yet, the result is that the film really has no sense of a plot or a story all together. In fact, it's a fragmented journey of a young man going through the changing times and decadence of Rome. The idea of history and mythology is thrown out of the window for something different. Yet, the result seems to create a detachment of sorts towards the viewer. There's a sense of confusion of what’s going on, what is taking place, and everything. Yet, this is Fellini's intention.

While the direction has some moments in terms of its locations and compositions, it's the script or lack of that kind of fails the film a bit. There's really no sense of consistency nor a central idea of what the film is about. It's really showcasing Rome and its decadence where everything is surreal and the idea of reality is somewhat unbearable. Even through the caricatures and extravagance of Fellini's mind, he really gives an idea of what Rome might be in comparison to what Europe was in the late 1960s. A world of decadence where to someone maybe from that era would understand but to someone who wasn't born in those times might not get it at all.

There's no doubt that the idea of homosexuality and three-way sex is involved and Fellini's intentions are clear in that department. Yet, despite some wonderful scenery and compositions, Fellini ends up making a film that tends to over-stylize itself into a world of pretentiousness that only few might understand.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno brings some wonderful camera work to some of the film's scenery from the hazy look of a desert scene to the eye-wielding look of the ship sequence. Editor Ruggero Mastroianni does create some unique editing to the film's ever-shifting sequence that was Fellini's intention. Unfortunately, it's due to Fellini's direction that the editing suffers a bit in terms of its pacing. Production designer Luigi Scaccianoce and art director Giorgio Giovanni are one of the film's highlights for the production that is created from the ship, Vernacchio's stage, Trimalchio's palace, and every room and set built for the film is just amazing. It's one of the few highlights along with the lavish costumes by Danilo Donati that features various colors with women wearing sheer-like silk. Even the hair stylist by Luciano Vito and makeup by Rino Carboni works to convey the film's decadence.

Longtime collaborator and composer Nino Rota creates a haunting yet percussive-like score that he collaborates with musicians Tod Dockstader, Ilhan Mimaroglu, and Andrew Rudin that plays to the film's sense of fragmentation and style. While not as memorable as other scores Rota made for Fellini, it works to convey the strange atmosphere of what Fellini wanted.

The film's cast for some part is somewhat forgettable since there is a large ensemble that it was hard to keep up with who was playing who. George Eastman is good as a minotaur-wearing warrior, Capucine as an empress named Trifena, Marcello Di Falco as Proconsole the man who helped aid in their kidnaping of the hermaphrodite, and the duo of Joseph Wheeler and Lucia Bose as the suicide couple. Max Born is memorable as the quiet slave Gitone while Alain Cuny is excellent as the greedy emperor Lichas. Salvo Randone and Mario Romagnoli are excellent as the two men who vie for the mind of Encolpio. Fanulla is very memorable as the decadent actor Vernacchio with his love of extravagance and excess. Hiram Keller is good as Encolpio's rival and friend Ascilto who has more charm and good-looks. Martin Potter is great in his role as Encolpio, a desperate man trying to find himself through all of this decadence.

While not up to par with earlier Fellini masterpieces like La Strada and La Dolce Vita, Fellini Satyricon is still an interesting films for fans of the director. Those new to the director will rather seek out his earlier films before watching this. It's not a bad film but not a great film either, depending on tastes and conventions. General audiences, understandably, won't understand Fellini's approach. While many will enjoy the extravagance of Fellini, some might feel it's pretentious and dull. Yet, despite some of the indifference towards this film. Fellini Satyricon is still a film that needs to be seen to understand the strange, unique mind of one of international cinema's greats.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) - (The White Sheik) - I, Vitelloni - (L'amore in Citta-unagenzia martimonale) - La Strada - (Il Bidone) - Nights of Cabiria - La Dolce Vita - (Boccaccio '70-Latentazoni del Dottor Antonio) - 8 1/2 - Juliet of the Spirits - (Histoires extraordinaires-Toby Dammit) - (Fellini: A Director's Notebook) - (I Clowns) - Roma - (Amarcord) - (Casanova) - (Orchestra Rehearsal) - (City of Women) - (And the Ship Sails On) - (Ginger and Fred) - (Intervista) - (The Voice of the Moon)

Incendies

2012-02-12T11:51:00.000-08:00

Based on the play Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad, Incendies is the story of twin siblings who travel to the Middle East following their mother’s illness as they uncover a mystery about their mother. Directed by Denis Villeneuve and adapted into script by Villeneuve and Valerie Beaugrand-Champagne, the film explores a relationship between two siblings and their mother as they wonder about their mother’s life in a treacherous land. Starring Lubna Azabal, Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, and Remy Girard. Incendies is a harrowing yet mesmerizing film from Denis Villeneuve.

After suffering a stroke and eventually die, Nawal Marwan (Lubna Azabal) leaves some instructions to her twin adult children in Jeanne (Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) with the help of their mother’s former employer and notary Jean Lebel (Remy Girard). The instructions involves giving envelopes to the father and a mysterious older brother neither children ever knew. Jeanne decides to go to her mother’s birth country to find out more about her mother who lead a very troubled life ravaged by war as she had to give up her child to an orphanage after disgracing her family for having an affair with a refugee. Fulfilling her promise to her grandmother, Nawal leaves her village to live with her uncle and relatives and study at a university only to be destroyed by war.

With Jeanne trying to find information still trying to find information about her mother as she is revealed to be part of a radical organization following an incident when she traveled through the country to find her long-lost son. During that time, she helped assassinate a right-wing Christian leader that led to her 13-year imprisonment. With Simon and Jean arriving at the country to help Jeanne uncover the mystery, they find out what happened at the prison where it was revealed that she was raped by a torturer named Abou Tarek (Abdelghafour Elaaziz). Along with another revelation, Simon decides to make contact with someone who might know about the whereabouts of his half-brother as he secretly meets a warlord. The warlord reveals something that would be even more shocking for Jeanne and Simon as well as whereabouts.

The film is about two children uncovering the life of their mother as well as the secret about the father and half-sibling that neither of them had known. Both would eventually take different journeys to the Middle East of their mother’s homeland where they would also find out more about themselves and what their mother had to do for their safety as children. With a journey that takes place in both French-Canada and a fictional country in the Middle East, it’s a film that has a narrative that parallels with the journey of the two kids and the one their mother took to find her long-lost son.

The screenplay does a great job in creating these differing storylines together to create similarities to the journeys a woman and her two children would take. Notably as it’s revealed that they’re all quite flawed as they would also face things that would challenge them despite the different circumstances. For Nawal, she had to endure the horror of war as well as the trauma of being in service to fight against everything she had once believed in. For Jeanne and Simon, they face the ire of those who knew their mother as well as the secrets into the whereabouts of their father and half-brother. Though the mystery of identities do sort of get revealed near the third act which would allow the audience to sort of figure things out. The aftermath of the revelation does prove to be more devastating despite the fact that it’s not drawn out as it could’ve been.

Denis Villeneuve’s direction is truly entrancing in the way he presents the film as a whole by creating unique images that can play with what the viewers are seeing. Notably as a scene of Nawal walking out of her village is then cut into a scene of Jeanne, who looks similarly like her mother, walking towards a city as they both are wearing the same cross around their neck. With these vast yet evocative shots of Amman, Jordan to play as this fictional country, there is something quite beautiful yet eerie to the landscape as these siblings enter a world they admittedly don’t understand. Along with very eerie close-ups, haunting compositions, and intimate moments to capture some elements of drama or symbolism. Villeneuve creates an evocative yet chilling film about two adult siblings exploring their roots.

Cinematographer Andre Turpin does a brilliant job with the film‘s photography from the darker colors of the Montreal exteriors and interior buildings to the much brighter and evocative look of the Amman exteriors as well as the interior for its lighting schemes in scenes such as the prison scene. Editor Monique Dartonne does an excellent job with the editing in utilizing an array of stylish cuts to help create tricky transitions between the differing storylines in the film. Production designer Andre-Line Beauparlant does a superb job with the set pieces created such as Lebel’s office and hall of files as well as the looks of the prison that Nawal had to live in for some time.

Sound designer Sylvain Bellemare does a fantastic job with array of cannons and gunfire that occurs for some of the chilling scenes involving war in Nawal‘s storyline while maintaining a more sparse mix for the intimate moments involving Nawal‘s adult children. The film’s eerie score by Gregoire Hetzel is definitely a major highlight of the film for its heavy yet wondrous orchestral score that plays to the drama and suspense of the film. Notably as it features some operatic pieces that occurs in the film. Another piece of music used in the film are two songs by the band Radiohead from their 2001 album Amnesiac to maintain the haunting texture of the film as it’s another highlight of the film.

The casting by Constance Demontoy and Christelle Dufour is wonderful for the ensemble that is created as it includes notable small roles from Abdelghafour Elaaziz as the mysterious Abou Tarek and Allen Altman as notary friend of Lebel. Remy Girard is very good as the notary Jean Lebel who helps Jeanne and Simon in their journey while discovering more secrets about the woman he had known about for so many years. Maxim Gaudette is terrific as the more reluctant Simon who has a hard time keeping his emotions in check until he has to help his sister in uncovering the mystery realizing what his mother has been hiding. Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin is wonderful as the more determined Jeanne who takes part in the journey first only to endure the stories about her mother from women at her mother’s village as well as other dark secrets.

Finally, there’s Lubna Azabal in a very chilling performance as Nawal Marwan. Playing a woman who has endured lots of turmoil in her search to find her long-lost son as Azabal brings a very hypnotic approach to the way she looks at something while being very understated in parts of her performance as it is truly marvelous to watch.

Incendies is a remarkable yet unsettling film from Denis Villeneuve featuring a gracious performance from Lubna Azabal. The film is definitely a mystery that allows the audience to piece things while managing to keep on guessing towards the end. Notably as Villeneuve use tricks to get audience to dwell into the paralleling storylines that occurs in the film. In the end, Incendies is a superbly rich film from Denis Villeneuve.

Denis Villeneuve Films: (August 32nd on Earth) - (Maelstrom) - (Polytechnique)

Spaceballs

2012-02-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

Directed by Mel Brooks and written by Brooks, Ronny Graham, and Thomas Meehan, Spaceballs is a spoof film about a mercenary and his half-man/half-dog who save a princess and her robot from the clutches of an evil henchman. The film makes fun of the Star Wars franchise as well as sci-fi films of the past including the world of advertisement and home video releases. Starring Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, the voice of Joan Rivers, George Wyner, and Dick Van Patten. Spaceballs is a hilarious and entertaining comedy from Mel Brooks.

After wasting all of the air in his home planet, President Skroob (Mel Brooks) devise a plan to take out all of the fresh air from Planet Druidia with the help of his henchman Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis). In Druidia, King Roland (Dick Van Patten) is celebrating the wedding of his daughter Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) to a man named Prince Valium (Jim J. Bullock). Yet, Vespa runs away with her robot droid Dot Matrix (the voice of Joan Rivers) as Skroob and Helmet decide to kidnap her so that Roland can give them fresh air. With Vespa in danger, King Roland asks mercenary Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) to rescue Vespa. Starr asks for a million space-bucks in return so he and his half-man/half-dog friend Barf (John Candy) can pay their debt towards space criminal Pizza the Hutt (the voice of Dom DeLuise).

After jamming Helmet’s radar system, Lone Starr is able to retrieve Vespa, Dot, and their luggage as they try to evade Helmet’s ship through hyperspace. Helmet and his assistant Col. Sandurz (George Wyner) try to do the same but only pass them as Lone Starr’s Winnebago spaceship crash lands into a planet where they would meet wise master of the Schwartz in Yogurt (Mel Brooks). After teaching Lone Starr the Schwartz, Yogurt also learns the contents of Lone Starr’s medallion which he won’t reveal until later. After Vespa and Dot are captured by Helmet, Lone Starr and Barf go to Planet Spaceball to save them as Skroob is able to get the code to open Druidia’s planet shield. Lone Starr and Barf arrive to Planet Spaceball to save Vespa and Dot as they decide to stop Skroob and Helmet with help from the Schwartz.

The film is essentially a Star Wars parody where it doesn’t try to take itself too seriously as Darth Vader is re-created as a nerdy guy wearing a big black helmet. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo become this mercenary who travels in a space Winnebago with his half-man/half-dog friend while is willing to do anything for a shit-load of money. While there’s a lot of humor that allows Mel Brooks and his co-writers to make fun of Star Wars as well as other sci-fi franchises. There’s also an element of wit as Brooks allows himself to make fun of the world of the home video market in a scene where Helmet and Col. Sandurz track down Lone Starr by watching a video cassette of the actual movie they’re in while it’s still in the making.

It’s part of Brooks’ genius to satirize the film industry at a time when the home video market was becoming big. Another element of satire Brooks gets to point fingers at is the world of merchandising. The scene where Lone Starr, Vespa, and the gang learn about what Yogurt does. Yogurt reveals that he’s selling loads of products where the real money for the movie is made. Spaceballs the t-shirt, Spaceballs the coloring book. Spaceballs the flamethrower! (Kids love that!) It’s Brooks allowing himself to point fingers at the silliness of mass-marketing in films while doing it in a very comical manner.

Brooks’ direction is truly whimsical from the way he opens the film with this very long and exaggerated take on the big Spaceballs spaceship that Dark Helmet rides in. While the direction is quite straightforward for a sci-fi spoof, Brooks is able to create amazing timing for the comedy while not being afraid to go extremely silly. The fact that he often breaks down the fourth wall at times just adds to the hilarity. With these amazing compositions of the space scenes that is filled with lots of great visual effects and miniatures. Brooks creates a truly fun and imaginative sci-fi comedy spoof that does more than just entertain.

Cinematographer Nick McLean does an excellent with the film‘s photography from the very sunny yet stylish desert scenes to the wondrous interior lighting of the spaceships and Yogurt‘s cave. Editor Conrad Buff IV does a nice job with the editing by creating rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s action sequences including some stylish cuts for the comedic moments. Production designer Terence Marsh, along with set decorator John Franco Jr. and art director Harold Michelson do great work with the set pieces created such as the Spaceballs ship interiors as well as the look of the Winnebago and Yogurt‘s cave.

The costumes by Donfeld are quite spectacular from the look of Lord Helmet‘s uniform including his big helmet that is also given a desert look to the wedding dress of Princess Vespa. Visual effects supervisor Peter Donen does an incredible job with the film‘s visual effects from the Schwartz-sabers and laser fire to the miniature spaceships made for some of exterior space shots. Sound designers Gary Rydstrom and Randy Thom do a fantastic job with the sound work from the sounds of the Schwartz-sabers and laser fire to .

The film’s score by John Morris is wonderful for the soaring orchestral pieces that is filled with bombastic string and percussion arrangements. The soundtrack includes a title song sung by the Spinners along with cuts by Maurice Jarre, Bon Jovi, the Pointer Sisters, Berlin, and Van Halen to play up the humor of the film.

The casting by David Rubin and Bill Shepard is terrific for the ensemble that is created as it includes appearances from Brenda Strong as a nurse, Stephen Tobolowsky as a guard captain, co-screenwriter Ronny Graham as a minister, Leslie Bevis as the interruptive Commanderette Zircon, Lorene Yarnell as the body of Dot Matrix, Jim J. Bullock as the narcoleptic Prince Valium, Michael Winslow as a sound effects-driven radar technician, Sandy Helberg as a deranged surgeon, a voice cameo from Michael York as creatures from another planet, and a hilarious cameo from John Hurt reprising his Kane role from Alien. Voice work from Dom DeLuise as Pizza the Hutt and Joan Rivers as Dot Matrix are very funny with the latter sporting some very funny one-liners. George Wyner is very good as the well-meaning Colonel Sandurz who tries to help Dark Helmet but either does the wrong things or ends up being smarter than his superior.

Dick Van Patten is also good as the regal King Roland who is desperate to save his daughter while revealing one of the stupidest code numbers ever. Daphne Zuniga is wonderful as the snobby Princess Vespa who tries to maintain her prestige while proving to be a total badass with a laser machine gun. Bill Pullman is great as the very scruffy yet no-holds-barred Lone Starr who becomes an unlikely hero. John Candy is hilarious as Barf, the half-man/half-dog who assists Lone Starr while saying some very funny lines. Rick Moranis is excellent as the villainous Dark Helmet as he often reveals his face to say smarmy one-liners while proving to be a very offbeat villain. Mel Brooks is fantastic in the dual role of the greedy yet neurotic President Skroob as well as the wise yet humorous wise creature Yogurt.

Spaceballs is truly one of the funniest spoofs ever created from the mind of Mel Brooks. The film is definitely one of Brooks’ most witty and very entertaining films as well as being something that is still funny through repeated viewings. Notably as it is filled with hilarious one-liners and moments that just keep people laughing while being a great homage to Star Wars and other sci-fi franchises. In the end, Spaceballs is a brilliant film from Mel Brooks that will make anyone wish for Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money.

Mel Brooks Films: (The Producers) - (Twelve Chairs) - (Blazing Saddles) - (Young Frankenstein) - (Silent Movie) - (High Anxiety) - (History of the World, Part I) - (Life Stinks) - (Robin Hood: Men in Tights) - (Dracula: Dead and Loving It)

A Dangerous Method

2012-02-10T14:06:00.000-08:00

Based on Christopher Hampton’s stage play The Talking Cure and John Kerr’s non-fiction novel A Most Dangerous Method: the story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Spielrein. A Dangerous Method is the story about Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud’s friendship that is later ruined by Jung’s examination towards his controversial patient Sabina Spielrein. Directed by David Cronenberg and screenplay by Christopher Hampton, the film explores the world of psychology in the early 20th Century as well as how this woman would destroy the friendship of two great minds. Starring Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley, Sarah Gadon, and Vincent Cassel. A Dangerous Method is an engrossing yet provocative drama from David Cronenberg.

It’s 1904 as Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) has arrived to a Swiss mental hospital under the care of Dr. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender). Jung’s interest in Speilrein’s case of abuse and psychological torment has him trying to understand more about Spielrein as he takes some of the methods of renowned psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) to understand more about Speilrein’s history of abuse. Two years later with wife Emma (Sarah Gadon), Jung travels to Vienna to meet with Freud where the two have a 13-hour conversation about psychoanalysis and Jung’s work on Speilrein, who has left the hospital to study psychiatry as she also helps Jung out in various studies.

When Freud sends Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel) to Jung for treatment, Gross would end up stating his own ideals of sexual perversion and liberation as it would affect Jung’s relationship with Speilrein leading to an affair with the two. Yet, it would cause complications for Jung as Freud wonders what troubles Jung leading Freud to visit Switzerland. The affair would end due to pressure as Speilrein makes some demands to be become a patient for Freud as the two men travel to America to discuss the world of psychology. Speilrein would visit Jung years later seeking aid for her dissertation on sexual psychology leading to a fallout between Jung and Freud that included Jung’s own conflicts of interest over everything he’s worked on.

The film is an exploration into the world of psychology from two of its great minds in the early 20th Century. Spanning 10 years through various studies and conversations, it is a film where this one woman whose own psychological trauma and torture would challenge the ideals of two men and unknowingly break their friendship. While the film is a dramatization of what happened in those 10 years, it is an interesting study about the world of psychology as well as a human drama about these three people and how they’re shaped into this exploration of sexual psychology and how it would play into emotions and instinct.

Christopher Hampton’s script plays up that sense of intrigue into this woman’s own psychological torment as she arrives as mad patient who is excited by being beaten for sexual pleasure as it relates to her own abuse as a child. This would baffle someone as intelligent and driven like Carl Jung who hopes to find more about the world of psychology as he would use a method of his mentor/friend Sigmund Freud to understand this woman. What would happen is that his own ideals would be shaken by this woman as well as a patient of Freud where he begins to explore his own sexual desires. The film plays as a character study of sorts in the character of Carl Jung as he eventually becomes a conflicted man devoted to his role as a top psychiatrist as well as being a man. He is in love with Sabina Spielrein but also is devoted to his wife Emma.

This would create a sense of confusion as it would later involve the more experienced and respected Sigmund Freud. Freud is a man that is looking for someone who is willing to carry his teaching as he believes that Jung is the man for the job until Jung deviates from Freud’s own teachings by going further into the unknown. This would create the kind of tension between these two men as Spielrein starts to go into Freud’s own methods and forge her own ideas much to Jung’s chagrin. While it’s a story that is quite complex and at times, can be overwhelming due to its study on psychology. It is still a very broad script by Christopher Hampton.

David Cronenberg’s direction is truly hypnotic for the way he re-creates early 20th Century homes and towns as it’s shot mostly in Germany with parts of it in Austria. While it is a period drama with costumes made of the time, Cronenberg doesn’t exactly go for an entirely straightforward picture. Instead, he is more concerned about the dramatic implications of psychology as well as what drove these individuals apart. The sexual content isn’t very explicit but does dare to be dangerous as this strange behavior regarding sex was very new and taboo at the time. Cronenberg chooses to downplay all of that by trying to find natural reactions to these events while still having the film focus on its three central characters as well as its two supporting characters.

Cronenberg creates some visually-gorgeous compositions to a lot of the images set in Switzerland that includes a lake where Jung and Freud would have conversations on a boat. Yet, it is the way Cronenberg frames the actors in these conversation scenes that prove to be very spectacular. He would have the dominant actor in a close-up of sorts while the other would still be in the background observing. There would be a few cuts back and forth to maintain the rhythm of these conversations as Cronenberg is interested in what is needed to be said. While the film is Cronenberg showing some restraint in his approach to camera movements and wide depth of field shots of the locations. He does create a truly mesmerizing film that explores the very complicated yet fascinating world of psychology and human nature.

Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky does an extraordinary job with the film‘s very exquisite and beautiful photography. Notably for the daytime exteriors in Vienna and Germany to complement the beauty of the locations while maintaining a much darker yet stylized look for the nighttime interior scenes which includes Jung‘s time with Speilrein. Editor Ronald Sanders does an excellent job with the film‘s editing by maintaining a straightforward yet effective approach to the cutting while utilizing rhythmic cuts for the intensity of the conversations. Production designer James McAteer, along with set decorator Gernot Thondel and art director Sebastian Soukup, does an incredible job with the set pieces created such as the big home of Jung and his office as well as Speilrein’s apartment and the lavish office of Freud to express their personalities.

Costume designer Denise Cronenberg does a brilliant job with the period costumes created such as the suits and hats the men wear to the lovely dresses and white silk worn by the women including Sabina and Emma to contrast their different personalities. Visual effects supervisor Wojiech Zielinski does a nice job with the film‘s minimal visual effects scene such as the ship traveling to America scene to create backgrounds of early 1900s New York City and of the ship‘s exterior.. Sound editors Wayne Griffin and Michael O’Farrell do a wonderful job with the sound work to convey the sparse intimacy of the conversations as well as the sounds of horse carriages and objects presented in the film. The film’s score by Howard Shore is spellbinding with its array of somber piano pieces and lush orchestral cuts to play up the dramatic tension and romantic elements of the film.

The casting by Deidre Bowen is phenomenal for the small ensemble that is created in the film. Sarah Gadon is terrific as Carl Jung’s young wife Emma who tries to deal with his sudden detached behavior while grounding him from his studies. Vincent Cassel is great as controversial patient Otto Gross who would push Carl Jung much further into his exploration of sexual perversion and behavior while being a sly seducer to the nurses at the hospital. Keira Knightley’s performance is pretty good in some parts where she brings a sense of energy and passion to the character of Sabina Spielrein. Though it doesn’t start off great early on as she is extremely over the top early on while displaying twitches that feel very off as well as Knightley’s Russian accent that sounds more American than Russian. Though it’s good in some parts, it’s a performance where Knightley doesn’t seem to rise to the challenge.

Viggo Mortensen is brilliant in the role of Sigmund Freud as Mortensen brings a very calm yet charismatic performance to the famed psychologist. Notably as he also displays a sense of passion and reasoning needed for this character as it’s definitely Mortensen at his finest. Finally, there’s Michael Fassbender in a very chilling yet captivating performance as Carl Jung. While it’s a very restrained performance as a gifted psychologist who finds himself being challenged. There is also a great sense of anguish that Fassbender displays as he’s dealing with his own idealism changed as well finding himself in conflict with Freud and eventually, himself as it’s a very brave yet harrowing performance from Fassbender.

A Dangerous Method is a remarkable yet very engaging film from David Cronenberg that features outstanding performances from Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen. While it may not be one of Cronenberg’s more stylish yet suspenseful-driven films. It is still a very interesting one for the way Cronenberg would explore the world of sexual perversion as well as its psychological attributes. Notably as it would allow audiences to explore that world and why it was so taboo at the time. In the end, A Dangerous Method is a smart yet alluring film from David Cronenberg.

David Cronenberg Films: (Stereo) - (Crimes of the Future) - (Shivers) - (Rabid) - (Fast Company) - (The Brood) - (Scanners) - Videodrome - The Dead Zone - (The Fly (1986 film)) - Dead Ringers - Naked Lunch - M. Butterfly - Crash - eXistenZ - Spider - A History of Violence - Eastern Promises - (Cosmopolis)

The American (2010 film)

2012-02-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

Based on the novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth, The American is the story of an assassin who hides in a small Italian town following a failed assignment as he awaits for orders while falling for a prostitute. Directed by Anton Corbijn and screenplay by Rowan Joffe, the film is a take on the assassin genre as it deals with the code of rules as well as the secretive world of being an assassin. Starring George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli, and Johan Leysen. The American is a smart yet visually-haunting film from Anton Corbijn.

After a failed assignment in Sweden that left him killing his way out, Jack (George Clooney) arrives to Rome to meet with a contact about his next assignment. After meeting Pavel (Johan Leysen) in Rome, Jack hides out in the small Castel del Monte near the Abruzzo mountains where he would befriend a priest named Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli). While pretending to be a photographer, Jack would spend his days alone where he calls Pavel as he takes an assignment. A woman named Mathilde (Thekla Reuten) wants Jack to build a rifle for an upcoming assassination target she is to embark on. Jack agrees to do the job as he continues to spend most of his days alone while having chats with Father Benedetto and sleeping with a local prostitute named Carla (Violante Placido).

While maintaining a low profile to build the gun and meeting Mathilde again who wants a few more specifications. Jack believes that there are people after him as he is convinced he is watched. Meanwhile, Jack finds himself falling for Clara as he is still believing that something isn’t right. After contacting Pavel again about the assignment, Jack decides he wants out as he prepares to face whatever is after him.

The film is about a top assassin who goes into hiding as he is facing death and aging while modifying a gun for another assassin. While hiding in this small Italian town, he confers with a priest about morality and life while falling for a local prostitute who is much smarter than she actually perceives to be. It’s a very unique take on the assassin film genre as the character of Jack is someone who likes to live a life of solitude and do things in secrecy. It’s part of what great assassins do as screenwriter Rowan Joffe understands that genre while he aims for a character study approach to this character. Jack, who also calls himself Edward, is a man with no past and no background other than that he is a skilled assassin who has just survived a failed attack on him as he’s on the run.

The lack of a conventional screenplay where there isn’t a lot of dialogue and intense action allows director Anton Corbijn to go for a more entrancing yet minimalist approach to the film. Utilizing haunting yet mesmerizing aerial shots of the towns and landscapes that is presented in the film while going for these eerie compositions such as Jack driving inside a tunnel. Corbijn aims for a very European approach to the film while simple two-shots and low-key compositions for the film’s dramatic portions. For the intense action scenes, Corbijn goes for a traditional approach to rhythm and suspense without presenting these scenes with a swift manner. The overall work that Corbijn does is truly fantastic in the way he creates some amazing shots while maintaining a sense of tension throughout to play up Jack’s sense of paranoia.

Cinematographer Martin Ruhe does a fantastic job with the film‘s colorful yet visually-lush cinematography from the eerie look of the tunnel in the film‘s opening credits to the vibrant red of Carla‘s room as well as the colorful lights of the nighttime exteriors of Castel del Monte. Editor Andrew Hulme does a nice job with the editing as he maintains a very methodical pace for the film to play up the silence of the drama as well as the intensity of the film‘s suspenseful moments. Production designer Mark Digby, along with set decorator Michelle Day and art director Denis Schegg, does an excellent job with the set pieces created such as Carla‘s room, Jack‘s sparse apartment, and the park that Father Benedetto frequents in a calm conversation he has with Jack.

Costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb does a very good job with the costumes as most of the men‘s clothing are quite straightforward while clothes of Carla and Mathilde are very fashionable to represent their personalities. Sound designer Paul Davies does a terrific job with the sound work from the sparse sounds of location including the church bell as well as the sound of gunshots during a target practice scene with Jack and Mathilde. The film’s score by Herbert Gronemeyer is amazing for the array of pieces created such as low-key piano pieces to play up the drama as well as eerie orchestral arrangements to play up the film’s suspense and more visually-haunting scenes.

The casting by Beatrice Kruger is superb for the ensemble that is created as it includes small appearances from Samuel Vauramo as a young Swedish man looking around, Filippo Timi as Father Benedetto’s mechanic son Fabio, and Irina Bjorkland as Jack’s Swedish girlfriend. Notable supporting performances include Johan Leysen as Jack’s secretive contact Pavel, Paolo Bonacelli as the sympathetic Father Benedetto, and Thekla Reuten as the very mysterious assassin Mathilde. Violante Placido is very good as Carla, a prostitute who befriends Jack while wondering about his secrecy as she is revealed to a very street smart girl.

Finally, there’s George Clooney in a marvelous performance as the assassin Jack. Clooney gives a more restrained performance that has him displaying a sense of melancholia and understated paranoia as a man who believes he’s at the end of his rope. It’s definitely Clooney at his best while proving that there’s more to him than being goofy and suave.

The American is a tremendous yet mesmerizing film from Anton Corbijn that features a terrific performance from George Clooney. While the film might not be everyone due to its pacing and European approach to storytelling. It is a film that does pay tribute to the world of assassin film genres with a bit of Sergio Leone’s western style in the mix. In the end, The American is a remarkable film from Anton Corbijn.

Control (2007 film)

8 1/2

2012-02-08T11:30:00.002-08:00

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/2/06 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Directed by Federico Fellini and written by Fellini Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi, 8 1/2 is the story about a director who is trying to find meaning in his life as he prepares to create a sci-fi film. Surrounded by friends, mistresses, and his frustrated wife, the director finds his own life becoming part of surreal episodes that blurs the world between fantasy and reality. Playing the director Guido Anselmi is Marcello Mastroianni, who also played lead in Fellini's previous feature film La Dolce Vita. Also starring Anouk Aimee, Claudia Cardinale, Barbara Steele, Rosella Falk, Sandra Milo, Madeleine Le Beau, Mario Pisu, Guido Alberti, and Eddra Gale. 8 1/2 is a brilliant, surreal masterpiece from the always ambitious Federico Fellini.

After a strange dream involving traffic jams and floated like a kite, the life of Guido Anselmi is a mess due to pressures of creating a new project as he joins film critic Carini Daumier (Jean Rougeul) for a day in the park. There, he is transfixed by the appearance of a young actress named Claudia (Claudia Cardinale) though Carini doesn't see her. Unsure if what he saw is true, Carini wants to know about Guido's next project as Guido admits he has no idea what it's about as he's dealing with writer's block as he sees his friend Mario Mezzabotta (Mario Pisu) and his new girlfriend Gloria Morin (Barbara Steele). Leaving at a train station, Guido awaits the arrival of his immature mistress Carla (Sandra Milo) who is asking for an available part for her friend. Guido dreams about his parents (Giuditta Rissone and Annibale Ninchi) where his producer Pace (Guido Alberti) and Guido's wife Luisa (Anouk Aimee) appear in the dream.

Arriving to his hotel as he is dealing with Pace, more journalists and a French actress named Madeleine (Madeleine Le Beau) he's hired for the film. Guido is overwhelmed as a party with journalists, a mind reader (Ian Dallas), Pace and his girlfriend (Annie Gorassini) gets crazier where mind reader reveals a message in Guido's head. Guido has a flashback of his childhood with the mysterious message as he is dealing with more insanity while receiving a call from Luisa who is coming with her friend Rosella (Rosella Falk). Another strange meeting with his embittered production assistant (Mario Conocchia) involve Guido having another fantasy with Claudia whom he believes is his ideal lead. More surreal events would involve a meeting with the Cardinal (Tito Massini) over religious themes of the film leading to Guido recalling his life as a kid (Marco Gemini) during an encounter with a strange prostitute named Saraghina (Eddra Gale).

Luisa arrives with Rosella and Luisa's sister (Elisabetta Catalano) at a car show with their friend Enrico (Mark Herron) as Guido takes them to the spaceship he's building for his film. Still, Guido admits his doubts to Rosella about his failures as an artist and as a husband to Luisa. During a lunch with Luisa and Rosella, Carla appears much to Guido's horror as he has a dream involving all of the women in his life which starts out fun and later devolves into a messy haze. Back in the real world, Guido is dealing with screen tests for parts as Luisa gives him some horrifying news. Devastated by the news, Guido is sparked by Claudia's arrival as he reveals his fantasies that as he faces more harsh truths leading up to a press conference to announce what he is going to do about his new film project.

While Federico Fellini has known to use extravagance to enhance his story, in this film he uses the extravagance for a battle between reality and fantasy. While the story and feel of the film is different than his previous feature La Dolce Vita, this and 8 1/2 do share the similarities in the internal conflicts both played by Marcello Mastroianni. In La Dolce Vita, the character of Marcello is trapped in his own world of decadence only coming to the conclusion that there could be hope. In 8 1/2, there is a similar ending where Guido is trapped in his own world as a filmmaker where he is forced to his own compromises leaving him doubtful. The escape that Guido has is in his flashbacks and fantasy yet once they collide with reality, it becomes more troubling to him. Then there's the film's ending where his co-writer tells him something that he has to think about where Guido is forced to accept things and ends things only in a way that Fellini can make endings.

The film's script is brilliant in not just the struggles of dealing with making of a picture but the collision of fantasy and reality. Fellini's direction plays to the film's struggle in his extravagant presentation from the opening scene of Guido hanging in the air like a kite to the circus-like ending. Fortunately, the extravagance doesn't distract what Fellini aimed for since many of the fantasy sequences only come out in the simplest presentation where the only thing Fellini needed was a large location and lots of people. The screenplay does a great job in moving back and forth into fiction and reality while mixing the two in a few sequences. It's really in one way, a film about escapism through a man desperate to find answers in his own reality.

Helping Fellini in his visual presentation is Gianni Di Venanzo whose black-and-white photography and lighting schemes are wonderful to convey Fellini's harsh reality of the film world and the sunlight exteriors that shows Italy at its most beautiful. Art director Piero Gherardi does an amazing job in the lavish production of the exterior scene with the rocket while capturing the realness of the Italian, upper-class lifestyle. Gherardi also does work on the film's wonderful costumes with Leonor Fini whether it's the rich clothes of Carla, the black artiness of Gloria, the most sophisticated look of Luisa, or the innocent white of Claudia. Editor Leo Cattozzo does a wonderful job in tightening the film while helping it move easily in its back-and-forth world of fiction and reality. Longtime composer Nino Rota does a great job in the film's score that is filled with exuberant, circus-like arrangements and comedic textures while the rest of classical pieces from the likes of Richard Wagner, Gioacchino Rossini, Leo Ferre, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Finally, there's the film huge cast that is filled with an array of characters. Filled with such small performances from the likes of Olimpia Cavalli, Maria Antonietta Beluzzi, Hazel Rogers, Edy Vessel, Nadine Sanders, Elisabetta Catalano, Giuditta Rissone, Annibale Ninchi, Annie Gorassini, Mark Herron, Mario Conocchia, Tito Massini, and Marco Gemini as the young Guido. Another minor actress who gives a memorable performance as the Saraghina is Eddra Gale whose presence is amazing while Ian Dallas is also wonderful as the mind reader. Yvonne Casadei is also memorable for the role as one of Marcello's mistresses in a strange, fantasy sequence. Madeline Le Beau is also good as the French actress who feels like she's untalented while Guido Alberti is great as Guido's producer.

Mario Pisu is great as Guido's old friend Mezzabotta who seeks a new life with a new girlfriend while Barbara Steele is also great as Mezzabotta's girlfriend Gloria who brings an exciting presence. Jean Rougeul gives an excellent performance as Guido's co-writer who tries to figure him out while helping deal with his own doubts. Rosella Falk is excellent as Rosella who seems to be the only female aside from Claudia who can understand Guido's anxieties as she treats him like a sibling. Anouk Aimee is great as the intelligent but frustrated Luisa who loves Guido but is frustrated in his inability to be around her. Sandra Milo is amazing as Guido's sweet but selfish Carla who is engrossed in her own lifestyle and how she often frustrates Marcello with her own lifestyle. Claudia Cardinale is lovely as Claudia with her enchanting presence and eye-wielding innocence as she represents an angel of sorts for Guido only to realize that he disappoints her.

Finally, there's Marcello Mastroianni in another iconic performance as Guido. Bringing the same coolness and anguish that he did as Marcello in La Dolce Vita, Mastroianni goes more into that anguish to bring a character that artists can relate to. While the character is flawed, Mastroianni makes sure that Guido isn't too sympathetic since he does do selfish things around him like adultery while as an artist, he is somewhat irresponsible. It's a masterful performance from the late Mastroianni who brings a bit of humor and a lot of drama while making his character entirely memorable and likeable in the end.

While not as extravagant as La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2 is a wonderfully surreal, amazing masterpiece from Federico Fellini led by another iconic performance from Marcello Mastroianni. Of the films Fellini has made in his career, this film isn't just essential but a must-see for anyone interested in Fellini. Whether you're into the decadent La Dolce Vita or the extravagance of his later films, 8 1/2 is a film that everyone must see for anyone having trouble dealing with reality and fantasy.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) - (The White Sheik) - I, Vitelloni - (L'amore in Citta-unagenzia matrimoniale) - La Strada - (Il Bidone) - Nights of Cabiria - La Dolce Vita - (Boccaccio '70-Le tentazoni del Dottor Antonio) - Juliet of the Spirits - (Histoires extraordinaires-Toby Dammit) - (Fellini: A Director's Notebook) - Fellini Satyricon - (I Clowns) - Roma - (Amarcord) - (Casanova) - (Orchestra Rehearsal) - (City of Women) - (And the Ship Sails On) - (Ginger and Fred) - (Intervista) - (The Voice of the Moon)

Batman & Robin

2012-02-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/15/05 w/ Additional Edits.

When Tim Burton was selected to do a big-screen version of the Caped Crusader Batman back in 1989, he did his job in creating two successful features with the first one with Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton as Batman. 1992's Batman Returns with Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito and Christopher Walken was also successful. When Burton chose to drop out to do more personal projects, he remained an executive producer for the third Batman film entitled Batman Forever with Val Kilmer in the role. Chosen to direct the project was Joel Schumacher who had success with such films as St. Elmo's Fire and The Lost Boys. Also starring Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, and Chris O'Donnell as Robin, Batman Forever was successful though fans of the comic book hated Schumacher's take on the Caped Crusader. Schumacher was selected again to do a fourth one which to this day, is considered to be the worst of the franchise entitled Batman & Robin.

With a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, Batman & Robin focuses on the duo's battle with a couple of new villains, Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy while the duo gets help from Batgirl. With Burton no longer involved, whatever was left of the fear presence Batman has was gone. Instead, it's all about the campy style of 1960s Batman with 1990s blockbuster extravagance as George Clooney takes on the role of Batman and Bruce Wayne. With O'Donnell returning as Robin/Dick Grayson along with two of the franchises' mainstay in Michael Gough as Alfred and Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon. The casting would only get worse with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy/Pamela Isley, and then-"It" girl Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl. In the end, Batman & Robin provides everything that is needed for spewing commentary when fans watch it as if they're in another episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Mr. Freeze is robbing a museum at Gotham with his gang of hooligans on ice as it's up to Batman and Robin to save the day. Freeze's attempt to steal a diamond nearly goes smoothly as Batman and Robin try to stop him, and a rocket though Robin gets frozen as Freeze succeeds in his mission. Batman learns that Freeze's diamond thefts are for a research to cure a rare disease called McGregor's Syndrome that took his wife Nora Fries (Vendela) away. Freeze has frozen her to work on curing the disease in its stages as he needed more diamonds to steal so he can fund his research.

Meanwhile in a lab, a mad doctor Jason Woods (John Glover) has created an experiment to create a super-soldier named Bane (Jeep Swenson) as a scientist named Pamela Isley sees what Woods does as he attacks her, thinking that she is dead only to be revived as a sexpot with poisonous lips as she takes Bane with her. With Alfred starting to ail, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson receives a surprise visit from Alfred's niece Barbara (Alicia Silverstone) who has just left school. While Barbara on the surface might seem like a nice girl, she has a knack for trouble and motorcycle racing which Dick begins to suspect. Bruce unveils a brand new telescope to research space as he is confronted by Isley and during a charity auction, Batman and Robin are introduced to Poison Ivy. That same night, Freeze succeeds in stealing another diamond until being stopped by Batman though Robin's frustration in a lack of equal partnership takes its toll.

Freeze is imprisoned in Arkham Asylum as Ivy and Bane breaks him out to retrieve his diamonds and wife as Batman and Robin learn that he's broken out. Their attempt to capture him fails as they're being seduced by Poison Ivy with Batman realizing her powers. Things at home get worse as Alfred is dying with McGregor's Syndrome as Barbara wants to know a secret that Alfred is keeping. When Ivy tells Freeze that his wife has died from Batman's hands, Freeze decides to take vengeance into freezing Gotham for good. With Ivy disguised as Isley approaches at an opening for the telescope, Bruce learns who she really is as he tries to stop Robin from coming to her. Barbara learns the secret as she becomes Batgirl where she helps Robin and Batman stop Freeze and Poison Ivy. Do they succeed? Will Robin score with Poison Ivy? Will Mr. Freeze find a cure for the rare disease? Do.... we even care at this point?

For many purists and fans of Batman, they know Batman as simply as one thing. A superhero who brings fear to his enemies. This Batman however, doesn't scare you. He doesn't even do anything but make a fool of himself and say the most inane things while carrying a credit card. That is not Batman! Batman doesn't go out, stop for Big Macs, hitting on women, fighting criminals with lame gadgets, and having to breast-feed Robin. NO!!!! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, HELL TO THE NO!!!!!!

The fault shouldn't just totally be on just Joel Schumacher but also screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, the guy who wrote A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man. He also wrote such crap-fest as Deep Blue Sea and Lost in Space. Obviously, this guy has not read a single Batman comic book and really doesn't understand the mystique and dark humor that the Caped Crusader has. There's no depth into what Batman does or says, not even Bruce Wayne does anything except go to parties with his girlfriend, mope on Alfred, and be an overbearing dad to Robin. The dramatics of the script feels contrived and uninspiring as it gets overshadowed by bad puns, one-liners, and worst of all, the lines that the audience will know is coming. This is by far one of the worst screenplays ever conceived.

If the script was bad enough, nothing could get any worse in the film's meandering, bloated direction from Joel Schumacher. Not only does he miscalculate in what the audience wants, he presents things and ideas that shouldn't be on a franchise film like Batman. There's fireworks explosions and slow camera action in every action scene and there's a feeling on what is expected. There's nothing going on in the film and the fighting is just.... yawn. Ok, the campy style of the 1960s TV show was entertaining and all but in this film, it just goes way too far. Do we really need batskates, surfboarding, motorcycles, car chases, and all of this into one film where nothing really happens?

It gets worse as when Schumacher tries to take a break from the action, he aims for drama and comedy where it feels flat. The comedy aspect of the film is just silly and only funny in a very bad way. The drama with the subplot of Alfred dying doesn't give much to the story and we know he's going to live. We just don't care. The childhood image flashbacks that Bruce has is supposed to be sentimental but comes out in a very contrived, cheesy way. Nothing in the story works or directing works. The subplots of Barbara doing her thing, Ivy's attempt to destroy the world for her plants, and Freeze wanting to save his wife is really a distraction. The main story is supposed to be about Batman and Robin trying to find equal footing but there's not much going on. Robin gets all bitchy, Batman gets all possessive, they fight over Ivy, and in the end, decide to become partners. Wow...

When the third act arrives and there's a chance to save the world, whatever intelligence is left in the film has vanished into a contrive moment where Batman tries to get Mr. Freeze to be good. It's pathetic. Schumacher should've been shot after making this film and there's never a moment where the film works in any way, even in the technical area. The production of the film feels like it's shot in a studio where it just feels lifeless. The whole area in the exteriors feels like a cartoon where even in the car chase scenes, it's like watching toy cars chasing each other. The interiors don't work either since it comes off in a bloated way. The film's production design by Barbara Ling is just awful in what Schumacher wanted in got while Stephen Goldblatt's cinematography is just off-the-wall with excessive color lighting that is unnecessary. And the costumes by Ingrid Ferrin and Robert Turturice that features nipples on the Batsuits where Schumacher has an excuse to have butt shots and nipple shots in the suits. Ugh!!!!!!!! Oh, Batman has a new Batmobile, it was like the last one. Lame.

Anyone who watches the film closely will definitely see errors and there's many of them. The sound dubbing is awful on a few parts where throughout the entire film, it's mixed way too loud, even if you turn your TV down. The editing by Dennis Virkler doesn't do anything to the film in its overlong running time of 130-minutes plus a scene that is badly edited where Robin is in a pool and suddenly, the film rewinds as he is stuck in the pool. That is some very bad editing. The film score Eliot Goldenthal really does nothing to the film only to know what's coming along with its lame theme. Then, we have the film's awful soundtrack featuring one of the Smashing Pumpkins' worst songs ever and an awful ballad from R. Kelly for Gotham City. (in singing voice) Oh, I love Gotham City, My body's calling!!!! Please buy my new album!!!!! I need to beat my case!!!

Tracks from R.E.M., the Goo Goo Dolls, Jewel, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Moloko, Soul Coughing, Underworld, Eric Benet, and Me'Shell Ndegeocello add nothing to the film at all since it's all merely used for commercial reasons.

Then there's your cast and ok... what else is there to say? They all sucked!!!!! They all should've gotten a Razzie Award for worst ensemble cast. Ok, we have supermodel Vendela being stuck in a tank and Vivica A. Fox as a wannabe squeeze for Mr. Freeze. Next. Oh, we have former pro wrestler turned former Governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura in a cameo. There's also Coolio and Nicky Katt in the bike racing scenes. Ok... The worst character to come from this and the previous film Batman Forever was a character named Gossip Gerty played by Elizabeth Sanders who just does nothing but blabs and blabs. Ugh... Bane is just a terrible character who just acts like King Kong without the brains and breaks things. This was Jeep Swenson's last role and months later, he died which is sad but this is what he'll be remembered for? For shame. Elle MacPherson plays Bruce Wayne's new girlfriend and does nothing but look pretty. Ok. John Glover goes overboard as a mad scientist, he's not funny, he's not scary. He's just stupid.

Pat Hingle does nothing but be idiotic as Commissioner Gordon, where's Gary Oldman when you need him? Michael Gough does nothing but acts like he's in constipation throughout the film as he gives a very uninspiring performance. Michael Caine was better as Alfred since he actually makes Alfred not only cool but is the moral guide for Batman and actually gets to kick some ass Just get the kid who played the young Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins in this movie and he'll just out act everyone.

Now we go to the main cast. Ok, Uma Thurman is a great actress but what was she thinking when she did this and The Avengers? Oh, $$$$$. Thankfully, she would redeem herself with Kill Bill but imagine if the Bride was in Batman & Robin and was going up against Poison Ivy and Batgirl. Hell, let's add Halle Berry's Catwoman into the mix. It would be done in five seconds as the Bride wins victorious with her Hanzo sword. Thurman is a walking joke throughout the film with her awful, big red hair, overly-done costumes, and does nothing but say awful one-liners in a bad noir-like female voice. Then in her fight scene with Batgirl, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad!!!!!! Ok, everyone has been found guilty and is forced to live in fear of the new Batman. Uma, since you've done Kill Bill, you're free to go but remind yourself to not do things like this again.

Alicia Silverstone is just awful as Batgirl/Barbara Wilson. She not only gives out bad one-liners but also some horrific acting. I had a crush on her during the Aerosmith video days but when I saw this film on TV, it was over. She does nothing to the film but attract young horny boys but they would be totally disgruntled in the end. After the wonderful Clueless, she was definitely poised to be a star but what has she done since that was relevant? She's done nothing and just became another "It" girl who fell and fast too. Sorry, she is guilty and she should be punished. Chris O'Donnell is annoying as Robin and does nothing but pout and whine and give out some awful one liners including the first line of the film, &#147I want the car, chicks dig the car". Shut up!!!! He went on to do a small part in Kinsey while has done some good early work and stayed out the spotlight. He can go with a bit of dignity but he's going to have to wear the Batman/Robin symbol to remind himself of his sins.

George Clooney may have the chin to be Batman and he's a great actor but he is probably the last guy you would expect to play Batman/Bruce Wayne. He's not bad but the lines he's been given and the way his character is written forced Clooney to pretty much, sleepwalk throughout the entire film. You can tell that he isn't into it and even in some dramatic moments, he comes off in a very lazy way. He does what he can do but he probably doesn't think he was right for the role at all. He at least can walk away with dignity for the fact that he knew that he sucked as the Caped Crusader. The film's worst performance is really no-contest and that honor goes to the current Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold just basically brings out some of the worst one-liners and puns that is ever said in any film and when he actually, really tries to act. It's just hilarious because it's so bad. He's not even funny when he tries to be or even when he's trying to be intimidating, he's not scary. He's just a stupid big man wearing a stupid big costume. Sorry but it's time to vote this Governor out!!!!!!

When Batman & Robin was released in the summer of 1997, it was expected to be this massive blockbuster hit but poor reviews and mediocre box office numbers helped sunk the entire franchise. Making things worse just as the film was ready for release, plans for another Batman film was in the works. During an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Adam West who played the TV Batman said that he was up for the fifth to play Uncle Batman. Whether it was a joke or not, fans of the Caped Crusader had enough. Warner Brothers in the end decided to give the franchise a break as fans were ready to kill.

To this day, Batman & Robin isn't just regarded as the worst film of the Batman series but a reminder of how idiotic Hollywood can be into handling a franchise. What made things worse when the film came out was the commercialization of it where McDonalds was promoting the film and it really got to the point that Batman had become a joke. If the Batman of now would appear in Batman & Robin, that entire cast would be scared to death while Alfred would die a more horrible death by Michael Caine's Alfred while Gary Oldman's Gordon would beat the living crap out of Hingle's Gordon. Kids shouldn't watch this film because it insults their intelligence. No one should see this film except for camp value. Nothing in this movie works and people will probably say, it's only a movie. No it's not, it's a clip of everything that is wrong with Hollywood films that are still being continued. It doesn't even deserve to be called a film or a movie, it doesn't even go as far as being called a snuff film. It's just an exercise in pure garbage.

Joel Schumacher Films: (The Incredible Shrinking Woman) - (D.C. Cab) - (St. Elmo's Fire) - (The Lost Boys) - (Cousins) - (Flatliners) - (The Client) - (Batman Forever) - (A Time to Kill) - (8MM) - (Flawless) - (Tigerland) - (Bad Company (2002 film)) - (Phone Booth) - (Veronica Guerin) - (The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film)) - (The Number 23) - (Blood Creek) - (Twelve) - (Trespass)

Batman Films: (Batman (1966 film)) - (Batman (1989 film)) - (Batman Returns) - Batman Begins - The Dark Knight - (The Dark Knight Rises)

Jane Eyre (2011 film)

2012-02-06T17:39:00.000-08:00

Based on Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre is the story of a young woman who had endured a life of cruelty as a child and later as an adult until she becomes the governess of a mysterious man she falls for. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and adapted into script by Moira Buffini, the film explores a young woman’s plight as she goes from being in an unloving environment and then yearn for love in this mysterious man as Mia Wasikowska plays the titular role. Also starring Michael Fassbender, Sally Hawkins, Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Tamzin Merchant, and Judi Dench. The 2011 film version of Jane Eyre is an exquisite yet haunting film from Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Wandering around the moors and land, Jane Eyre arrives at a small cottage as she is under the care of St. John Rivers (Jamie Bell) and his two sisters Mary (Tamzin Merchant) and Diana (Holly Grainger). Staying temporarily at the Rivers home, Jane recalls her life as a child (Amelia Clarkson) as she had lived a life of cruelty in the hands of her aunt Mrs. Reed (Sally Hawkins). Taken to the very strict Lowood Institution under the supervision of the very abusive Mr. Brocklehurst (Simon McBurney), Jane befriends Helen Burns (Freya Parks) who helps Jane deal with her situation. More than a decade later, Jane leaves Lowood to become the governess for a house called Thornfield Hall. Meeting with its housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax (Judi Dench), Jane’s job is to teach the young French girl named Adele (Romy Settbon Moore) while helping out Mrs. Fairfax.

Walking to send a letter, a horse nearly runs over Jane as it’s rider is revealed to Thornfield Hall’s master Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender). After meeting him later in the day, Jane deals with Rochester’s mysterious yet brooding persona as well as his questions about her life and such. When his room is on fire due to something mysterious as Jane saved him, the two forge a friendship as she asks Mrs. Fairfax about Rochester as she admits, she has no idea what he’s hiding. At a party held in Thornfield Hall where Rochester brings his fiancee` Blance Ingram (Imogen Poots), Jane observes what is happening as she has hard time contending with her feelings for Rochester. The unexpected visit of a man named Richard Mason (Harry Lloyd) appears where Jane assists Rochester in this ordeal.

After taking a break to visit her ailing aunt, Jane returns to Thornfield as she hears some news about Rochester and Ingram as Rochester reveals his feelings for Jane. Yet, their courtship ends due to the secret that Rochester has been hiding leaving Jane in despair over everything she’s endured in her life.

In this adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s Gothic novel, it is a film told largely from the perspective of the titular character as she reflects on her time with this strange yet enigmatic man who would disappear for days and then come back unexpectedly. Notably as she has to deal with other weird things in this house and parts of her past where she endured abuse, neglect, and the idea of not being loved. Moira Buffini’s screenplay does follow the book faithfully while she does create a narrative that is more of a reflective one as it starts off near the end as Jane leaves a house and eventually arrives at the home of a young clergyman and his sisters. The script also allows the characters to be fleshed out more like the maternal Mrs. Fairfax as well as the kind but religious St. John Rivers. Yet, it is the relationship between Jane and Rochester that is the heart of the film as Buffini explores the emotional tension between the two as well as their own dark secrets.

The direction of Cary Joji Fukunaga is extraordinarily magical for the imagery he presents as well as the tension and atmosphere that surrounds the film. Wanting to be true to the Gothic tone of Bronte’s book, Fukunaga aims for a look where there aren’t a lot of direct colors as the palette goes for a very soft, naturalistic look with a bit of de-saturation as there’s no red or anything very bright that occurs. Shooting the film with some hand-held cameras and steady camera shots including some very wondrous movements to soak up the location and set pieces. Fukunaga also creates some striking compositions to capture the dramatic tension of the film such as the opening shot of Jane leaving while utilizing gorgeous wide shots to capture the beautiful yet stark images of the British countryside landscape. The overall work that Fukunaga does is truly enchanting in its look and tone.

Cinematographer Adriano Goldman does a tremendous job with the film‘s gorgeous yet ravishing cinematography filled with wonderful yet naturalistic interiors for some of the nighttime scenes in Thornfield Hall along with some beautiful exteriors of the British countryside including the skylines at it all plays to a certain color palette that emphasizes the film‘s Gothic tone. Editor Melanie Oliver does an excellent job with the film’s tight yet seamlessly fluid editing with the use of a few jump-cuts and straight transitions while playing up to the intensity of its suspenseful and dramatic moments.

Production designer Will Hughes-Jones, along with set decorator Tim Jones and art director Karl Probert, does an incredible job with the set pieces created such as the rooms in Thornfield Hall as well as drab yet oppressive dining hall at Lowood Institution. Costume designer Michael O’Connor does a fantastic job with the costumes from the very de-colored and dark clothes that Jane mostly wears to the more stately yet regal look of Rochester. Makeup and hair designer Daniel Phillips does a terrific job with the hair and makeup design for the characters from the braided hair of the women to the sideburns of the male characters.

Sound editors Matthew Collinge and Catherine Hodgson do an amazing job with the sound work from the intensity of the locations to the more sparse intimacy of Thornfield Hall that includes some chilly moments and layers of dialogue that occurs in scenes where Jane pines for Rochester. The film’s score by Dario Marianelli is definitely spectacular for its array of pieces ranging from somber piano themes to play up the romance to more low-key orchestral cuts to play up the drama in the film as it’s definitely one of Marianelli’s best scores.

The casting by Nina Gold is brilliant for the ensemble that is created as it includes notable small roles from Craig Roberts as Jane’s cruel cousin John, Eglatine Rembauville-Nicolle as Adele’s nanny Sophie, Valentina Cervi as a mysterious woman at Thornfield Hall, Imogen Poots as Rochester’s fiancee` Blanche, Simon McBurney as the very abusive Mr. Brocklehurst, Harry Lloyd as the mysterious Mr. Mason, Holly Grainger and Tamzin Merchant as St. John’s kind sisters, and Freya Parks as Jane’s old school friend Helen Burns. Other outstanding supporting roles include Sally Hawkins as Jane’s neglectful and uncaring aunt Mrs. Reed, Romy Settbon Moore as the lively French girl Adele, and Amelia Clarkson in a very chilling performance as the young Jane Eyre.

Jamie Bell is wonderful as St. John Rivers, a clergyman who takes Jane in and becomes a friend while having hopes to become more than just her friend. Judi Dench is superb as Mrs. Fairfax, a sympathetic housekeeper who helps Jane with the things about Thornfield while being the one person who keeps Jane and Rochester grounded. Michael Fassbender gives a truly haunting performance as Edward Rochester with his calm yet brooding persona as well displaying a sense of torment that adds to everything that he’s trying to hide as it’s truly some of Fassbender’s best work as an actor.

Finally, there’s Mia Wasikowska in a truly divine performance as the titular character. Not afraid to display humility and anguish, Wasikowska brings a truly mesmerizing approach to the character who tries to maintain a sense of duty while dealing with her feelings for Rochester. The chemistry between Wasikowska and Fassbender is extraordinary for the tension they bring as Fassbender would often dominate with Wasikowska being very quiet. In more emotional scenes, the two restrain themselves from being very dramatic as it is about the anguish and love these two characters have for each other. Notably as Wasikowska maintains the restraint more than Fassbender as it is definitely the best performance she’s given so far in her young career.

The 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre is a truly magnificent yet entrancing film from Cary Joji Fukunaga that features outstanding lead performances from Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. Along with great technical work, a fabulous score, and wonderful supporting work from Judi Dench, Jamie Bell, and Sally Hawkins. It is definitely a film that gives Charlotte Bronte’s famed novel a very unique yet visually-dazzling take that does more than what some adaptations of the story has done. In the end, the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre is a truly enchanting yet mesmerizing film from Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Jane Eyre (1943 film)

2012-02-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

Based on Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre is the story of an orphaned girl who goes through abuse as a child and delve into lots of turmoil in her life until she meets and falls for a man while serving as a governess at mansion. Directed by Robert Stevenson and adapted by Robert Stevenson, Aldous Huxley, John Houseman, and un-credited work from Henry Koster. The film explores a girl’s life into womanhood as she grows into different periods of her life being loveless and mistreated. Starring Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine, Margaret O’Brien, Peggy Ann Garner, John Sutton, Sara Allgood, Henry Daniell, Agnes Moorehead, and an early appearance from Elizabeth Taylor. Jane Eyre is mesmerizing and intoxicating film from Robert Stevenson.

Losing her parents at an early age and living with her cruel aunt Reed (Agnes Moorehead) and cousin John (Ronald Harris), Jane Eyre (Peggy Ann Garner) is sent to Lowood Institution where she endures more cruelty from its headmaster Mr. Brocklehurst (Henry Daniell). Finding friendship in a young girl named Helen Burns (Elizabeth Taylor) and sympathy from Dr. Rivers (John Sutton), Jane eventually becomes educated as she leaves the institution 10 years later as an adult (Joan Fontaine). Taking a job as a governess for a mansion called Thornfield Hall, she meets its housekeeper Alice Fairfax (Edith Barrett) as she would care for a young French girl named Adele (Margaret O’Brien). Walking outside of the house, Jane sees a horse coming by as a man falls off the horse as he is revealed to the house’s owner in Edward Rochester (Orson Welles).

While Rochester maintains a very brooding yet mysterious persona as he treats Jane coldly at first. He starts to confide in her in the way she takes care of Adele as well as dealing with some of the mysterious things at home. Particularly when a fire happens in Rochester’s room where Jane heard a laugh and footsteps happening. The two forge a friendship as Jane still ponders about what Rochester might be hiding as she and Fairfax organize a party that is to be attended by many guests including Rochester’s fiancee Blance Ingram (Hillary Brooke). Jane watches from afar at the party as she tries to cope with her feelings towards Rochester while a surprise visit from a man named Mr. Mason (John Abbott) appears. Rochester tries to deal with Mason, who is later injured by an attack, while Jane wonders what Rochester is hiding.

After helping Rochester deal with Mason, Jane considers leaving as Rochester pleas for her to stay. Just as things between the two go well, Rochester’s secret is unveiled forcing Jane to make a heartbreaking decision of her own.

In this adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s novel about a poor, mistreated plain woman who falls for this mysterious man whose house she runs as she tries to discover what is he hiding and why he is often away from this house. Throughout the film, the story explores this young girl’s journey into seeking love and companionship as she would endure loss and abuse as a child and later deal with a form of indifference as an adult. Yet, there would be people who would care for this young girl that would shape her into becoming this woman who can run things and be this observer to a man who is quite enigmatic and often very cold at times. The screenplay explores the relationship between Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester as well as being this very dramatic mystery. It is told largely from Jane’s perspective as if she is reading the actual book which includes an intro made for the film. While some scenes are changed from the book to add more dramatic punch to the film, the script does work in maintaining the tension and longing between Eyre and Rochester.

Robert Stevenson’s direction is very stylish for the way the Thornfield Hall manor and its exteriors are presented to maintain that Gothic look and tone of the book. While a lot of the compositions for the conversations and dramatic portions of the film are straightforward. There is an element of style to the look of those shots while Stevenson does create some amazing close-ups to express the emotions and drama. For the suspenseful moments, Stevenson slowly builds things up while keeping this ambiguous as he doesn’t reveal Rochester’s secret except in little hints and through conversation. The overall work that Stevenson does is pretty remarkable as well as spellbinding for maintaining a look that is true to Bronte’s vision of the story.

Cinematographer George Barnes does an incredible job with the film‘s black-and-white photography from the chilly exteriors of the moors to the more entrancing shades and ominous look for the dark interiors at the Thornfield Hall manor. Editor Walter Thompson does an excellent job with the editing as a lot of it is straightforward with dissolves and transitional fade-outs to help maintain a leisured pace for the film. Art directors James Basevi and Wiard Ihnen, along with set decorator Thomas Little, do fantastic work with the set pieces created such as the eerie manor as well as the spacious yet oppressive Lowood dining hall.

Costume designer Rene Hubert does a nice job with the costumes from the black dress and bonnet that Jane Eyre wears to the more regal look of Rochester. The sound work of W.D. Flick and Roger Heman Sr is terrific for the intimacy it provides in the conversation scenes along with the more terrifying moments involving thunderstorms and winds that occur in a few scenes. The film’s score by Bernard Herrmann is brilliant for its sweeping yet suspenseful score that also swells into dramatic arrangements led by a big orchestra as it’s the film’s technical highlight.

The film’s cast is definitely outstanding for the ensemble created that includes small roles from John Abbot as Mr. Mason, Ronald Harris as Jane’s young cousin John, Hillary Brooke as Rochester’s outgoing fiancee Blanche, Aubrey Mather as Rochester’s party guest Colonel Dent, Sara Allgood as Jane’s old kind maid Bessie, and a young Elizabeth Taylor in a splendid performance as young Jane’s best friend Helen Burns. Other notable supporting roles include Edith Barrett as the helpful Mrs. Fairfax, Henry Daniell as the abusive Brocklehurst, Anges Moorehead as the cruel Mrs. Reed, and John Sutton as the very kind Dr. Rivers. Margaret O’Brien is very good as the lively Adele while Peggy Ann Garner is superb in the role of the young Jane Eyre.

Orson Welles is great in the role of Edward Rochester with his imposing physique and brooding persona. While Welles’ approach to the character is theatrical in its tone, he does maintain the dramatic tropes needed for the character as he delves into despair. Finally, there’s Joan Fontaine in a fantastic performance as the titular character. Armed with a great sense of restraint to the melodrama as well as being a woman who endures all sorts of tribulations as well as refusing to be pinned down for who she is. It’s a very entrancing yet spellbinding performance from Fontaine.

The 1943 film version of Jane Eyre is a wonderful yet eerie film from Robert Stevenson featuring outstanding performances from Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine. The film is definitely an interesting take on Charlotte Bronte’s novel as well as playing to the dramatic style of the 1940s. Notably as it features some amazing technical work to help play to the Gothic mood of the film. In the end, Robert Stevenson’s adaptation of Jane Eyre is a chilling yet rapturous film.

Jane Eyre (2011 film)

The Lives of Others

2012-02-05T13:13:00.000-08:00

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 2/26/09 w/ Additional Edits.

Written & directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) tells the story of East Germans secret police monitoring the culture scene of East Berlin. When one of its surveillance agents uncovers something he hears involving one of his superiors and a music composer's girlfriend, he goes into a moral dilemma that puts him into bigger trouble. A suspenseful drama filled with intrigue, it's considered to be one of the finest films of European cinema. Starring Ulrich Muhe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, and Ulrich Tukur. Das Leben der Anderen is a film that truly deserves the accolades it receives.

It's 1984 in East Berlin as Captain Gerd Weisler (Ulrich Muhe) interrogates someone with its recordings for his class. Weisler's methods prove to be controversial but gets results as his longtime friend Lt. Col. Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur) watches. Though Grubitz is one of his superiors, he remains a close friend as the two get invited to watch a play by Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) that stars his girlfriend Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). Attending the play is a minister named Hempf (Thomas Thieme) who has a thing for Christa-Maria while he suspects that Dreyman is leaning towards pro-Western idealism. Weisler is hired to watch Dreyman by getting his team to setup small microphones and such to bug Dreyman at home.

Dreyman remains loyal to the East German cause despite his friendship with blacklisted play director and mentor Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert) as Weisler continues to records conversations at a party. He also learns that Christa-Maria has been seeing Hempf as Weisler becomes convinced that he's only doing surveillance for the minister's personal reasons instead of something political. Now in a moral dilemma, Weisler continues to do his duties as he makes things happen for Dreyman who learns what Christa-Maria has been doing. When Dreyman learns that Jerska died, he decides to write something about Jerska's death in relation to other political-motivated deaths. With the help of a couple of friends and a publisher who knows how to transfer papers to the West, Weisler secretly helps them.

While trying to remain cool in the situation to Grubitz, the investigation continues with Hempf becoming very upset. While Christa-Maria deals with her own troubles while continuing to get illegal prescription pills, Dreyman's paper under an anonymous name goes public with Hempf and Grubitz going further into the investigation. With Grubitz leading a search into his house, nothing is found as Weisler finds himself into some trouble. With Christa-Maria targeted and Weisler, who had met her previously, being the top interrogator. Weisler makes some moves that would impact everyone including his own.

Films about surveillance and moral conscience had always made for great suspense, notably Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 classic film The Conversation. While von Donnersmarck's film does remind audiences a bit of Coppola's film in terms of its morally-conscience protagonist and suspenseful drama, the tone of the film is very different due to its political surroundings. What von Donnersmarck reveals is what it was like in East Germany and East Berlin as it's under the watch of the Soviet Union. Western ideology and other anti-Eastern sentiments would get anyone in trouble. Neighbors are forced to be informants while those who are suspected would have their homes bugged unaware of it. It's what von Donnersmarck does to give audiences, who probably had never been to East Germany in the 1980s of what it was like with not much freedom there at the time. Yet, the film spans nine years from 1984 East Berlin to 1993 unified Germany.

The screenplay isn't just about suspense and drama in terms its mood but it's really about characters and their motivations. When audience first meet Weisler, he's this cold, unemotional, determined man who just does his job while at home. There's not much for him except the occasional visit from a hooker as he lives all alone. Yet when he's assigned to spy on Dreyman, it's just a job for him by his government which he always will do. Yet, when it involves a government official who is abusing his powers for all of the wrong reasons. Weisler suddenly goes from this cold, emotionless surveillance man to a man with a conscience. It's von Donnersmarck's emphasis on development for both Weisler and Dreyman that really makes the film compelling. Weisler gains a conscience while Dreyman is motivated to become politically-angry following the death of his mentor and his girlfriend's abuse from that same government official.

The direction of von Donnersmarck is truly mesmerizing in its emphasis on drama and suspense. With little humor in the film, it's all about atmosphere as everyone has to be careful in what they say while the camera constantly moves to play along with its suspense. The dark mood revels throughout the entirety of the film except for the last twenty minutes in its aftermath over what was revealed and such. What von Donnersmarck does that is that in building suspense, it's not about a slow build-up but rather goes for it while giving time to display drama that leads to suspense. He also makes sure that the characters all interact with the exception of two major characters. It's all about what one character does for another and his own as von Donnersmarck makes a truly spectacular film that is mesmerizing from its first frame to final scene.

Cinematographer Hagen Bogdanski does great work with the film's eerie lighting with some yellowish shading for the exterior nighttime scenes and Dreyman's apartment to set a dark mood. The film's rest of the interior scenes are show with low, green colors with a lot of the cinematography being straightforward for the daytime scenes. Editor Patricia Rommel does excellent work with the editing in playing up to its suspense by building it up slowly while moving leisurely on the drama. The suspense moves fast but also rhythmically along with nice dissolves to a few scenes where Weisler reads text to what is going on with Dreyman.

Production designer Silke Buhr, set decorator Frank Noack, and art director Christiane Rothe do some very good work with the art direction in the look of Dreyman's apartment and the top floor that Weisler is working at. The room where Weisler works along with diagrams of Dreyman's room is truly phenomenal in its atmosphere while displaying a harshness in a few sets like the bar where Weisler and Christa-Maria meet for the first time. Costume designer Gabriele Binder does fantastic work with the costumes from the bland jacket that Weisler wears on his way to work to the clothing that Christa-Maria wears including a fur hat reminiscent of Russian caps. Sound designer/editor Christoph von Schonburg does amazing work with the sound to capture the conversations that goes on. The suspense that von Schonburg does with the dialogue and recordings give the film its eerie atmosphere and dark tone as the sound work is truly worth noting in the film's technical delivery.

The music by Gabriel Yared and Stephane Moucha is filled with wonderful arrangements ranging from suspenseful to dramatic in its array of arrangements. Along with German rock and pop music, it's the orchestral score of Yared and Moucha that really shines in playing up to its drama and eerie tone.

The casting by Simone Bar is phenomenal with notable small performances from Charly Hubner as Weisler's assistant Udo, Herbert Knaup as Dreyman's publisher friend Gregor Hessenstein, Hans-Uwe Bauer as Dreyman's friend Paul Hauser, and Volkmar Kleinert as Dreyman's mentor Jerska. Thomas Thieme is very good as Hempf, a minister who uses his powers to get Dreyman spied only to be abusing his powers for his own personal gains. Ulrich Tukur is excellent as Lt. Col. Grubitz, Weisler's longtime friend and superior who checks on the reports only to realize that Weisler might be up to something. Martina Gedeck is wonderful as Christa-Maria Sieland, Dreyman's girlfriend who is in the middle of the investigation as she is tormented by Hempf while dealing with her own insecurities.

Sebastian Koch is great as Dreyman, a playwright who is urged to become political following what happened to Christa-Maria and his mentor Jerska as he deals with death and his own role. Koch's understated, troubled performance is mesmerizing to watch as he makes Dreyman from a playwright who doesn't want to get in trouble to someone who rebels quietly. The film's best performance is Ulrich Muhe in one of his final film roles before his sudden death in July of 2007. Muhe's subtle, quiet, and stone-face performance is magnificent as he starts out as a man void of emotion and conscience only to develop as a man of conscience with compassion. Muhe's performance is really the heart of the film as he plays an unlikely hero who gains something valuable despite some great cost. Muhe may not be known in the U.S. but his performance is truly unforgettable.

Das Leben der Anderen is truly one of the best films to come out in the past years from Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck featuring a brilliant performance from the late Ulrich Muhe. Fans of suspenseful dramas will find something refreshing and compelling in von Donnersmarck's take on surveillance-driven films. It's a film that is intelligently made with characters that are very memorable along with a lead who gains great development as he deals with conscience. The film is also a great history lesson about what went on in East Berlin at the time when Germany was separated before the Berlin Wall came down. In the end, Das Leben der Anderen is a mesmerizing masterpiece from newcomer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

2012-02-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 11/26/09.

One of the most beloved novelists in the history of literature, Roald Dahl's witty tales have always been beloved by many. One of them was Fantastic Mr. Fox about a fox who outwits three nasty hunters to feed his family and friends. The book's clever humor and theme about family remains one of Dahl's finest work as other stories like Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, James & the Giant Peach, the Witches, and Matilda were all made into feature films as either live-action or stop-motion animation. Now Fantastic Mr. Fox is now made into a feature film but as a stop-motion animation film from the visual mind of one of cinema's most creative auteurs in Wes Anderson.

Directed by Wes Anderson with a script adaptation by Anderson and Noah Baumbach. Fantastic Mr. Fox is an expansive re-telling of Dahl's famed novel with elements of existentialism and broad humor. A mixture of Anderson's unique visual style and quirky soundtrack choices as well as Dahl's own dark sense of humor and themes about family. It's a film that revels in the best of both worlds as Anderson not only creates a faithful adaptation of sorts of Dahl's book but also makes it his own that works with his own style as a director. With an all-star voice cast that includes such Anderson associates as Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Anderson, Adrien Brody, Wallace Wolodarsky, Willem Dafoe, and Brian Cox along with George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Helen McCroy, and Jarvis Cocker. Wes Anderson's adaptation of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of the most inventive and mesmerizing animated films that's ever been created.

Living in a valley near farms, Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and his wife Felicity (Meryl Streep) are stealing food where they are trapped as Mr. Fox vows to never steal again. Two years later (12 in fox years), Mr. Fox and Felicity live peacefully at a hole with their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman). Fox wants to live in a fancier home as he turns to a real estate weasel agent (Wes Anderson) and a superintendent named Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky), an opossum, as the home overlooks the farms of the three nastiest farmers in the land. The chicken farmer Boggis (Robin Hurlstone), the duck and goose farmer Bunce (Hugo Guinness), and apple cider farmer Bean (Michael Gambon). After consulting with his lawyer Clive Badger (Bill Murray) where Badger warns about buying the house, Fox and his family moves in along with Fox's nephew Kristofferson (Eric Anderson) who is proven to be a natural talent in athletics and all sorts of things much to Ash's dismay.

After befriending Kylie, Fox and Kylie decides to go and steal food through a series of small-time thefts though Felicity is suspicious. During a trip to steal cider from Bean's farm with help from Kristofferson, the trio nearly gets in trouble as they encounter a rat (Willem Dafoe) and Mrs. Bean (Helen McCroy). The thefts have made the farmers upset where Bean comes up with an idea to camp outside the tree house and kill the entire fox family and Kylie. The raid leaves Mr. Fox without a tail as things get worse as the farmers dig through the house forcing the entire party to dig underground and hide and continue so once the farmers brought tractors and explosions to make things worse.

With everyone hungry and all of the creatures in the forest angry at Fox for all of this, Fox decides to stage a raid with other creatures to steal food from the farms while Mrs. Fox and other creatures stay at Badger's home. The raid becomes a success as a feast occurs until Ash decides to get his dad's tail back with Kristofferson's help only to face problems for everyone. With the farmers becoming more destructive, it's up to Mr. Fox to save everyone with some help involved from all other creatures.

While the original story of Fantastic Mr. Fox is a short little story that can last for a few hours to read. Turning into a film while using the large bulk of the book as part of the second act seems like a radical approach of the story. Yet, Wes Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach manage to create a film that isn't just faithful to Roald Dahl's original tale. They also add more elements of ideas that coincide with Anderson's own cinematic themes of family, existentialism, and growing up. The difference is that Anderson chooses to underplay his themes a bit into something that is more accessible and not too high-concept.

The dialogue is mostly told through Anderson's own fast, quick-witted style with a mixture of the witty dialogue of Dahl's own text in the book. Notably the song that the kids sing about the farmers which is kept. Some of the dialogue is told in an adult manner like a scene where Fox and Badger want to say profane things to each other. It could've been done with words of profanity but Anderson and Baumbach chooses to clean it up and make it funnier which seems to work for the adults but also not make it too racy for kids.

Anderson's direction is filled with some of his trademark shots and colorful visual style. The major difference is that it's not as overt as it was in his other films while presenting it in a very different cinematic style. Using stop-motion animation with the help of animation director Mark Gustafson, the film has a look that isn't reminiscent of the work from the creators of Wallace & Gromit or Henry Selick (who was originally involved but chose to do other projects). Instead, it's a look of its own while it plays up to Anderson's own visual style. From the way he composes a film to how he will shoot an entire scene with tracking shots one frame at a time.

Anderson's attentive to detail from the look of the fur and clothing to the close-ups of the eyes of the characters add something that is definitely marvelous to look at. Even action sequences and comical scenes have a look and feel that is truly stunning in its presentation and execution. The result overall isn't just Anderson's best work since 1998's Rushmore which seems like an overused term. It also shows that he is definitely one of the most inventive and original directors of his generation.

The cinematography of Tristan Oliver is phenomenal in its look from the lighting of the scenes in it daytime or nighttime settings. Even as Oliver sets an atmosphere in the look of the underground holes that the Fox family and Kylie hide in with the use of fake fires and such. Particularly in scenes at night with the help of some visual effects from supervisor Tim Ledbury in some very comical scenes involving electrical fences. The editing by Andrew Weisblum is brilliant for its pacing and moments to break the film down in chapters as if the book comes to life in some aspects. The transitions are well-done as well as its sense of rhythm in terms of the fact that it's all stop-motion where it has to be shot one frame at a time for a movement of a character.

The art direction by production designer Nelson Lowry is exquisite in its attention to detail and how it's designed. Particularly a lot of the set pieces come from the style of Anderson's recent films in terms of its framing and compositions as Lowry does a great job with the look of the tree houses, farms, and all sorts of locations. Sound editors David Evans and Jacob Ribicoff do a great job in the recreation of the sounds of barking dogs, sirens, gun shots, and tractors as it is all well-made to create an atmosphere for the film and its numerous sequences.

The music of Alexandre Desplat is definitely mesmerizing as it is a mixture of brimming orchestral pieces and twangy, country-style music with foot-stomping rhythms, banjos, and all sorts of organic instruments. Desplat's orchestral work also features boys choirs singing to the song Boggis, Bunce, and Bean hate to hear along with all sorts of atmospheric pieces with the use of chimes and strings. One of the standout cuts in the soundtrack is an original song by Jarvis Cocker which he co-wrote with Wes Anderson that is a playful romp about Mr. Fox's shenanigans. The soundtrack itself is definitely one of Anderson's best that features score pieces by George Delerue from the films of Francois Truffaut plus songs by the Beach Boys, The Bobby Fuller Four, Cole Porter, Burl Ives, and another trademark of Anderson's films, the Rolling Stones doing Street Fighting Man.

The voice casting is definitely marvelous with appearances from Anderson associates like Adrien Brody as field mouse helping out in the final mission, Brian Cox as a news reporter, and Roman Coppola as a squirrel contractor. Other voices include Karen Duffy as an otter, film director Garth Jennings as Bean's dim-witted son Juman Malouf as Ash's crush Agnes, Helen McCroy as Mrs. Bean, and Wes Anderson himself as the voice of a real-estate weasel. Robin Hurlstone and Hugo Guinness are excellent as the voices of Boggis and Bunce, respectively as they're given a few funny lines while Jarvis Cocker is great in his role as Petey, Bean's assistant who likes to sing with a banjo. Owen Wilson has a small but memorable cameo as the voice of Ash and Kristofferson's coach Skip who explains the rules of a cricket-like game called Whackbat while Willem Dafoe is great as the villainous, paranoid Rat who says bad things about Mrs. Fox.

Wallace Wolodarsky is great as the funny yet mild-mannered Kylie, an opossum who often sports crazy eyes whenever he kind of blacks out. Eric Anderson is really good as the laid-back Kristofferson, a fox who likes to meditate and just let things be. Michael Gambon is also good as Bean, the nastiest farmer who is a great shot while persistent in catching Mr. Fox. Bill Murray is hilarious as Clive Badger, a lawyer who claims to be a demolition expert while having a funny argument with Mr. Fox. Jason Schwartzman is wonderful as Ash, the despondent son who is having a hard time with the fact that he's different from his dad. Meryl Streep is great as Felicity (named after Roald Dahl's widow) who is calm and to the point while being the person who can ground Mr. Fox. Finally, there's George Clooney who is perfect as the voice of Mr. Fox with his calm, laid-back delivery and enthusiasm in his mix of light humor and drama as he brings the character to life.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is indeed, a fantastic film from Wes Anderson with an amazing voice cast, superb animation, an amazing soundtrack, and great attention to detail in the animation. In an age where animated films have succumb to the 3D trend in order to get audiences into the movie theaters. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a film that doesn't play to any kind of gimmicks nor current film trends that is going on while allowing audiences of all ages to have fun and be engaged by an incredible story. Fans of Roald Dahl's story might be bewildered by Anderson's radical take on the story but will be happy to see how faithful it is to the book. In the end, Fantastic Mr. Fox is definitely the year's best animated film while proving that Wes Anderson is indeed one of cinema's most unique talents.

Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - (Moonrise Kingdom) - (The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson)

Wes Anderson Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom)

Tabloid (2010 film)

2012-02-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

Directed by Errol Morris, Tabloid is the story of former Miss Wyoming Joyce McKinney who gains notoriety by kidnapping and raping a Mormon missionary as her actions triggers a war between dueling British tabloid publications. The film explores a woman’s desire to become famous at a time when these things were new as McKinney gets to tell her story more than thirty years after the incident. The result is a very entertaining yet sensational film from Errol Morris.

Joyce McKinney is a North Carolina woman who had met and fell for this man from a Mormon missionary named Kirk Anderson in Utah as the two went out and fell in love. Due the pressure of his religion and his mother, he ended the relationship and fled to England to do work with the Mormon religion. McKinney and some associates devised a plan to find Anderson as he’s eventually found where McKinney’s friend Keith May kidnaps Anderson. Taking him to a cottage in Devon where there’s claims he is imprisoned against his will, she would have sex with him and get him to stop believing in the Mormon dogma. Things seem to go fine when she and Anderson go to London and then he flees once again as news coverage emerge over what happened.

Scandal emerges as McKinney becomes a tabloid star in Britain as she gains fame while upstaging Joan Collins at her own film premiere. Whereas the Daily Mail would follow her exploits and tell her side of the story, the Daily Mirror would make claims that she was a nude model and hooker as it infuriated McKinney who had already fled the U.K. to return to the U.S. She wouldn’t be heard from until years later where she was accused of stalking Anderson and his wife only to go into seclusion for some years where she would be back in the news for very different yet strange reasons.

The film explores a famous scandal that occurred in 1977 in Britain where this former beauty queen would be infamous for kidnapping a man, raping him, and tying him up all for the sake of love. Told mostly by McKinney along with an associate of hers, a former Mormon missionary, and a couple of journalists. The film has a narrative about how McKinney met Kirk Anderson and their love life along with her confusion towards the Mormon religion as a former missionary reveals the legends about Anderson’s plight to the people. This would lead to her plan to kidnap Anderson and all sorts of things leading to her notoriety in Britain where cartoon drawings and such would add to that infamy.

Errol Morris’ direction is very lively as he strays away from his usual style of entrancing objects for something different as he is relying on newspaper clippings, photos, and old TV clips for this story. While his approach to doing interviews remains the same while he does get to speak out a bit, he does allow the people interviewed to fill in and tell the story while the focus is mainly on Joyce McKinney. McKinney is definitely an eccentric individual but she’s also quite likeable and pretty funny. What she did was wrong although love does complicate things as Morris chooses not to judge her and let her tell her story. The scenes involving newspaper clippings, photos, stock film footage, news footage, and all sorts of animated montages do give the film an idea of how big this event was.

With a couple of journalists telling the story about the media coverage, it does bring in a great mix of humor and drama that occur as McKinney claimed the nude photos she had supposedly taken were doctored. The photographer disputes those claims even though he never took those photographs. The story spans throughout McKinney’s life from her early years as a kid to recent years as she lives quietly in North Carolina. Yet, her notoriety did make her agoraphobic for a while in the 1980s while she would be in the news once again all because of a stunt as it’s told by a South Korean scientist. The overall work in the film is quite spectacular as Morris creates a truly engaging and fun documentary

Cinematographer Robert Chappell does excellent work in the film‘s cinematography to bring an understated yet naturalistic look to the interviews presented for the film. Editor Grant Surmi does a fantastic job with the editing in gathering loads of stock footage, animated sequences, and such to create montages to add humor to the film. Sound mixer David Bach does an incredible job with the mixing to create an atmosphere to the news reports that occur as well as the voices of the people interviewed for the film. The film’s score by John Kusiak is wonderful as it is very low-key in its orchestral arrangement to play up the suspense and drama along with more, melodic-tingling arrangements for the film’s humorous moments.

Tabloid is a remarkable and enjoyable documentary from Errol Morris about Joyce McKinney and her infamous scandal. The film is definitely one of Morris’ more accessible works in terms of the humor that occurs while it is also a very intriguing story about how someone can be famous by an act of notoriety. Notably as it is a film about scandal and how one woman was able to create such chaos all because of love. In the end, Tabloid is a superb and rapturous film from Errol Morris.

Errol Morris Films: (Gates of Heaven) - (Vernon, Florida) - The Thin Blue Line - (A Brief History of Time) - (The Dark Wind) - (Fast, Cheap & Out of Control) - (Mr. Death) - (The Fog of War) - (Standard Operating Procedure)

The Thin Blue Line

2012-02-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

Written and directed by Errol Morris, The Thin Blue Line is the story about the murder of a police officer back in 1976 in Vidor, Texas. When Randall Dale Adams is accused of the murder, he tries to plea his innocence as he faces a death sentence for the murder. The documentary film explores the murder as it features re-enactments of what happened as Morris tries to uncover the case and to see if Adams is really innocent. The result is an engrossing yet very stylized documentary from Errol Morris.

On November 28, 1976, a Dallas police officer named Robert W. Wood was shot to death during a traffic stop as his partner tried to shoot at the runaway car as she was unable to remember the license plate or anything else that occurred. Less than a month later, a man named Randall Dale Adams is convicted as the murderer though he claims to be innocent. While Adams has an alibi claiming he was in a motel with his brother while believing that a 16-year old kid he had met and hung out with named David Ray Harris earlier that night was the killer. Adams goes on trial as his defense believe that he hadn’t done anything at all as he had no criminal record while they also suspect Harris.

Through opportunistic witness claiming they saw Adams at the blue car that was driven at the crime scene as well as a prosecutor who wanted to maintain an undefeated streak of court wins. Adams was found guilty and given a death sentence though he was able to appeal reduce it to a life sentence though he was maintaining his innocence. Meanwhile, his defense team and various law officials continues to find out more information on Harris who has a criminal record since he was a kid as well as numerous run-in with the laws. Notably as Harris reveals some strange comments which reveal that he might’ve been the one.

The film is an exploration of a man’s innocence and the way the justice system could be abused in the hands of a few key people including the one person who could actually be the killer. Told through interviews and re-enactments, the film explores the actual crime scene and Adams’ trial where it is clear that things did go wrong to try and accuse Adams. Notably as a neighbor of the witness who testified revealed that the witness who claimed to have seen Adams were really just opportunistic people wanting money for their testimony. A defense associate for the attorney admits that she was convinced that Adams was guilty until looking his background and his alibi.

Through Errol Morris’ entrancing direction that often has people being interviewed and talking in a relaxed state. They’re able to piece their words together to reflect what might’ve happened on that night. Through these stylish re-enactments with actors playing the two cops and the supposed killer, Morris uses these scenes and later add things as if there’s more to the story about what happened. The interviews with law enforcement and attorneys reveal a lot of how things can be undone while one law officer reveals that his father was part of an early version of the FBI that had been part of the team that had captured John Dillinger.

Since the film also features clips from newsreel and other movies to reference what some of the people being interviewed were seeing or were reflecting on. It adds an element of who these people are and why they could be doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Yet, Morris prefers not to make any judgment on these individuals for their actions while wanting Adams to tell his side of the story as well as Harris character. The latter in particular as he exposes his own childhood background that could play part into his own criminal record.

Through these eerie compositions where Morris would shoot a simple object like an ash tray, a throwing fast food cup, or a police siren and make it look like there’s a lot to the story as it’s being told from various individuals through these interviews. Along with very gorgeous shots of the city of Dallas, there is something about the way Morris presents the film as a whole as he goes beyond the parameters of a documentary. Through this device of having the interviewers talk at the camera while re-creating scenes about what happened. The overall result is a truly fascinating yet chilling film from Errol Morris.

Cinematographers Robert Chappell and Stefan Czapsky do fantastic work with the film‘s entrancing yet hypnotic look for the re-enactment scenes and overhead shots of Dallas along with more simplistic work in the interviews. Editor Paul Barnes does an excellent job with the film‘s methodical approach to the pacing as well as utilizing a very stylized approach to creating montages and rhythms to capture the action of what happened in the crime scene.

Production designer Ted Bafaloukos and art director Lester Cohen do an amazing job with the set pieces created for Adams‘ original interrogation as well as the look of the car driven by the killer. The sound work of Brad Fuller is terrific for the mood set in the re-enactment scenes along with the harrowing of the gunshots that occur quite often in the film. The film’s score by Philip Glass is definitely the film’s technical highlight for its moody yet evocative electronic score to help play to the drama and dark aspects of the crime and characters present in the film.

The Thin Blue Line is a mesmerizing yet very provocative documentary from Errol Morris. The film is among one of the best examples of what a documentary can do in piece up clues to uncover a mystery or to fix something where the wrong person was tried and accused of. It is also a film that indicated why Morris is among one of the best documentary filmmakers as he doesn’t try to hammer down some ideals but rather tell a story and let the audience figure it out. In the end, The Thin Blue Line is a truly masterful film from Errol Morris.

Errol Morris Films: (Gates of Heaven) - (Vernon, Florida) - (A Brief History of Time) - (The Dark Wind) - (Fast, Cheap & Out of Control) - (Mr. Death) - (The Fog of War) - (Standard Operating Procedure) - Tabloid

Rushmore

2012-02-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 5/11/05 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Directed by Wes Anderson and written by Anderson and Owen Wilson, Rushmore is the story of a 15-year old prep school student who befriends a disillusioned millionaire as they both fall for a widowed first grade teacher. The two embark on a feud that becomes troubling as the two deal with their own personal issues. The film is an exploration on youth and the relationships they have with adults as the film does more than just be a high school story. Starring Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Stephen McCole, Luke Wilson, Mason Gamble, Sara Tanaka, and Brian Cox. Rushmore is a lively yet exhilarating film from Wes Anderson.

Max Fischer (Jason Schwartman) is a 15-year old student at the prestigious Rushmore Academy as he enjoys being a student where he forms several clubs and participate in various extracurricular activities that included leading school plays. Despite being ambitious in those activities, he is school's worst student as Max is also a liar where he claims that his barber father Bert (Seymour Cassel) is a neurosurgeon. When the school's headmaster Dr. Guggenheim (Brian Cox) puts Max on academic probation, Max tries to fulfill his duties with friend Dirk Calloway (Mason Gamble) where they meet business tycoon Herman Blume (Bill Murray) at a seminar at the school. Blume's twin sons Donny and Ronny (Keith & Ronnie McCawley) attend Rushmore as Herman finds a friend in Max while Herman is dealing with his own morose life that includes his bratty sons and neglectful wife (Kim Terry). When Max checks out a Jacques Costeau book, he learns that the school's new first grade schoolteacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams) has been checking the book out as Max falls for her.

Wanting to impress her, Max gets Latin back into the school's curriculum while wanting to make plans for an aquarium due to her love for fishes and various sea creatures. Max turns to Blume for help as Blume becomes infatuated with Rosemary during a dinner to celebrate Max's play version of Serpico which becomes a disaster due to the presence of Rosemary's friend Dr. Peter Flynn (Luke Wilson) as Max thinks it's her boyfriend. Due to Max's attempt to create an aquarium near the school, Max is kicked out of Rushmore as he's forced to go to public school where he meets the ambitious Margaret Yang (Sara Tanaka). After an encounter with Scottish classmate Magnus Buchan (Stephen McCole) at Rushmore about Dirk's mother (Connie Nielsen), Max makes a lie that would eventually damage his friendship with Dirk while Blume starts a secret relationship with Rosemary.

After learning about the relationship, Max exposes the news to Mrs. Blume as a war between him and Blume explodes with Rosemary resigning from Rushmore as Max also dropping out of school due to the war. Working with his dad at the barber shop, Dirk visits with some news about Dr. Guggenheim's stroke where Max also meets Blume at the hospital. Realizing that Rosemary isn't over the death of her husband, Max decides to make amends as he also gets Margaret's help to fix things as he would stage his most ambitious play to date.

While retaining the optimistic innocence that was in Bottle Rocket, Rushmore is more rooted in melancholia and light-hearted humor. Notably of its three central characters, since they all have a sense of sadness around them. Max, is a kid trying to find himself only to be hit with sadness when he doesn’t get what he wants only turning to the grave of his mother. Miss Cross is a sullen woman who remains troubled by her husband's death and how Max reminds her of him. Then there's Herman Blume who is a man that has everything but is so morose by his lifestyle and everything he has, there is nowhere for him to turn to.

The genius of Rushmore really goes to the team of Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson for finding light-hearted sentimentality in the most offbeat places. They create characters that are flawed in their own ways, even in the most sympathetic of places while smaller characters appear for humor or dramatic purposes. It's a very intelligent coming-of-age story with characters developing into something more. With Anderson bringing in great scenery, his direction is very different from his previous film since he uses every eccentric idea for something that is light-hearted and humorous. Even in the scenes with the play, there is a lot of humor and small theatricality to it as it's Anderson's best work as a director so far.

Helping in the directing is longtime cinematographer Robert Yeomen who brings in a colorful look to the films in its interior sequences along with some wonderful, dreamy textures in many of the film's exterior scenes around the Rushmore academy. Production designer David Wasco along with wife and set decorator Sandy Reynolds-Wasco and art director Andrew Laws brings in a lovely, colorful feel to school of Rushmore with its dark yet natural colors while the stage production of Max's plays are a lovely spectacle. With Karen Patch bringing in some nice costume work, notably on Max's plays and the suit that he wears, the film has a nice look. With longtime editor David Moritz bringing in a leisurely-paced editing style that gives the film a smooth, offbeat film, the movie does not lose rhythm.

Another great element in all of Wes Anderson's films is the music with a great, off-kilter score from Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh bringing in a nice, jazzy tone to the film as well as harpsichord like arpeggios to play off the film’s innocence. Then there's film the film diverse soundtrack filled mostly with British rock music with stuff by the Who, the Rolling Stones, John Lennon, the Faces, Creation, the Kinks, Chad & Jeremy, Donovan, and a couple of cuts from Cat Stevens plus jazz musician Django Reinhardt and French singer Yves Montand. All of those tracks are used very well to convey teen angst as well as the film's lighthearted sentimentality.

Then there's the film's amazing cast with some great and small performances from not just Anderson's friends like Stephen Dignan, Dipak Pallana, Eric Chase Anderson, Brian Tenenbaum, Andrew Wilson, and the always hilarious Kumar Pallana with his one-liners. Also memorable were the McCawley teens as Herman Blume's evil twins and Kim Terry as Blume's wife. While Anderson regulars Luke and Owen Wilson (the latter appears as a picture) only had small roles, Luke is generally funny as Dr. Peter Flynn while Connie Nielsen makes a memorable appearance as Dirk's sexy mom. Sara Tanaka is wonderfully exquisite as the sweet Margaret Yang as well as Mason Gamble who gives an excellent performance as Max's best friend. Stephen McCole is amazing as the curse-wielding Scots Magnus with his hilarious one-liners as well. Seymour Cassel is excellent in the role as Max's simplistic father while Brian Cox rules as Dr. Guggenheim with his tough but sympathetic performance as Max's headmaster.

Olivia Williams brings a calm, complex performance as Rosemary Cross with her maternal-like stature and melancholic tone as a woman who is trying to move on but only find her suitors to be like children. Williams really brings the sweetness and sadness of the film that is enriching. Jason Schwartzman is the film's real breakthrough as the precocious and ambitious Max Fischer. While Max may not have some likeable qualities, Schwartzman makes sure that Max is a kid that an audience can relate to in terms of dreams along with a sadness while trying to understand the world. Schwartzman is amazing and is really the soul of the film.

The film's best performance easily goes to Bill Murray. While it's not in the realm of comedy classics like Caddyshack, Stripes, Ghostbusters, Scrooged, and What About Bob?, Murray shows more of the same range as an actor that he did years ago in Groundhog Day. Playing the morose and self-loathing Herman Blume showed what brilliance Murray can do in making a very pathetic character into someone we care about despite his flaws. It's no surprise in why Anderson wanted to work with Murray all the time and it's his performance in this film is really a precursor to his greatest performance in Sofia Coppola's 2003 masterpiece Lost in Translation. It's Murray's approach to subtlety and offbeat comedic timing that makes the Herman Blume character one of the most memorable as he brings in great chemistry with Schwartzman and Williams in their respective scenes.

If there’s one film from Wes Anderson to start with, Rushmore would be the film to see first. The film is truly one of Anderson's most touching and entertaining films of his career as it features a truly outstanding ensemble led by Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Olivia Williams. The film is also among one of the best high school movies that strays away from its typical class formula as well as having an energy that is truly intoxicating to watch. In the end, Rushmore is a brilliant film from Wes Anderson and company.

Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) - (The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson)

Wes Anderson Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2012-01-31T11:54:00.000-08:00

Directed by Rupert Wyatt and written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an origin story of how a scientist took care of an ape named Caesar and was then forced to be taken by cruel caretakers leading to a revolt with help from other apes. Based on the original Planet of the Apes novel by Pierre Boulle, the film explores Caesar’s development from a normal ape into a leader. Starring James Franco, Frieda Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, and Andy Serkis as Caesar. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an exciting and thrilling film from Rupert Wyatt.

In hopes to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, scientist Will Rodham (James Franco) believes that he’s made a breakthrough from an ape he had been experimenting on. After telling his boss Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) about his breakthrough, Will presents it to a board which becomes a disaster after the ape he experimented has broke out of her cell due to a misunderstanding. With Jacobs deciding to have the apes killed, Will learns through fellow scientist Franklin (Tyler Labine) about a baby ape that Will’s ape was trying to protect. Will takes the baby home where they would live with Will’s father Charles (John Lithgow) who is suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Amazed by the ape’s growing intelligence, Will calls the ape Caesar as he believes that Caesar is the key to the cure he’s searching for to help his father. After meeting primatologist Caroline (Frieda Pinto) to help treat an injury for Caesar, she becomes part of the family where Charles’ condition seems to improve for a few years. Yet, Caesar starts to feel like he’s treated like a pet as Will reveals the truth about his background and why he took him in. When Charles starts to fall ill due to dementia, an incident involving Charles and a neighbor (David Hewlett) has Caesar fighting the neighbor to protect Charles. Due to the incident, authorities force Will and Caroline to put Caesar to an animal shelter that is run by the cruel John Landon (Brian Cox) and his vicious son Dodge (Tom Felton).

While Will reluctantly returns to work to find a cure only to feel compromised by Jacobs over the testing of apes. Back at the shelter, Caesar is befriended by fellow apes including a circus orangutan named Maurice (Karin Konoval), Rocket (Terry Notary), and a big gorilla named Buck (Richard Ridings) as they organize a revolt. When Will learns that Jacobs’ new version of the drug is flawed and fatal to humans, he quits as he tries to get Caesar back. Instead, Caesar chooses to stay as he briefly leaves the shelter to help find ways to make his fellow apes smarter as they lead an attack on the Landons and those that oppose them to Will’s horror.

The film is an origin story with a lot of references to the 1968 film which included the famous line “Get your hands off me you damn dirty ape”. Yet, it does create a lot of ideas of how the Earth was taken over by the apes as well as more ideas over what happened to the humans. Still, it’s a film about a man’s relationship with this little chimpanzee he would call Caesar and how he would shape this chimpanzee’s outlook on life and later play part in his revolt against humanity. Though the Will Rodham character is a flawed man that just wants to save his father’s life, he does care for Caesar and treats him more than just an animal. The script that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver works in creating that relationship arc and basing the ideas for what would come in the stories that are previously told though there are flaws in the script. The Caroline character is sort of a one-dimensional figure who just plays the girlfriend while antagonists like the Landons don’t have much to do other than be mean to Caesar.

Rupert Wyatt’s direction is quite extraordinary with its presentation as he does more than just make a typical summer blockbuster action film that is loaded with CGI-effects. Since the apes are performed by actors in motion-capture visual effects, it adds a certain realness to the way the apes are presented not just physically but emotionally. Notably in their interactions to humans and some of the big action sequences in its third act. Wyatt does create some amazing tracking shots for some of the cage hallways in the shelter along with wonderful steadicam camera shots for some of Caesar’s movements around Will’s home. Overall, Wyatt creates a truly exhilarating and fun action film with a bit of drama and lots of energy.

Cinematographer Andrew Lesnie does an excellent job with the film‘s stylish cinematography from the naturalistic, lush look of the redwood forest scenes at Muir Woods National Monument along with darker lighting schemes for some of the nighttime interiors at the shelter. Editors Conrad Buff IV and Mark Goldblatt is pretty good for the fast-paced rhythm of the action scenes while utilizing montages for some of Caesar‘s growing development and slower cuts for the dramatic moments. Production designer Claude Pare, with set decorator Elizabeth Wilcox and supervising art director Helen Jarvis, does incredible work with the set pieces from Caesar’s room in Will’s home along with the building Will works at and the play room at the shelter where Caesar leads his revolt.

Costume designer Renee April does nice work in the costumes as the close are mostly casual including a red shirt worn by Caesar. Visual effects supervisors Dan Lemmon and Erik Winquist do a spectacular job with the visual effects for the way the apes look along with some of the action sequences that happen as it is truly the film‘s highlight in terms of its technical field. Sound designer Chuck Michael and sound editor John A. Larsen do some fantastic work in the sound work from the stark yet hollow world of the shelter to the more raucous bombast of the action scenes that occur in the film. The film’s score by Patrick Doyle is superb for playing up to the bombast with loud percussions and soaring string arrangements while going for a more low-key approach in the dramatic portions of the film.

The casting by Debra Zane is remarkable for the ensemble that is created as it features notable small roles from Tyler Labine as Will’s lab friend Franklin, Jamie Harris as a shelter caretaker, and David Hewlett as Will’s hot-headed neighbor Hunsiker. Brian Cox is very good as the slimy animal shelter head John Landon while Tom Felton is also good, despite being one-dimensional, as the crueler Dodge Landon. David Oyelowo is stellar as Will’s boss Jacobs who becomes consumed with greed as he uses Will for his own financial gain. Frieda Pinto is decent as the very caring Caroline although she doesn’t get much to do than just be the supportive girlfriend. John Lithgow is excellent as Will’s ailing father Charles who becomes fond of Caesar while dealing with his own disease.

James Franco gives a terrific performance as Will Rodham by displaying a man that just wants to help his father while forming his own bond with Caesar as he tries to help the chimpanzee in his ordeal. The performances by Karin Konoval, Richard Ridings, Christopher Gordon, and Terry Notary as the apes Caesar befriend are superb for the physicality and emotional expressions they give to those apes making them more than just CGI-creations. Yet, the best work in that field as well as the best performance in the film is Andy Serkis as Caesar. In the way he expresses the varied emotions as well as Caesar’s physicality, Serkis does something that goes beyond the parameters of what a motion-capture performance can do. Notably as Serkis gets Caesar to speak a few words in the film’s climatic revolt to exemplify Caesar’s growth in intelligence as it’s definitely a performance like no other.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a marvelous and entertaining action-blockbuster film from Rupert Wyatt that features an outstanding performance from Andy Serkis. This is a film that gives the Planet of the Apes franchise a much-needed boost after being away from theaters for so long as well as very misguided remake back in 2001. For fans of action-blockbusters, this film is among one of the best that offers more than just entertainment. In the end, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an engaging yet pleasurable film from Rupert Wyatt.

La Dolce Vita

2012-01-30T13:05:00.002-08:00

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/22/04 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Directed by Federico Fellini and written with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi, La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) is the story of an Italian reporter whose life of decadence leads to tragic consequences and realization after encounters with an actress, a socialite, a religious commune, and his suicidal girlfriend. While the film conveys realism, Fellini also brings mayhem to the screen where there are moments that questions morality, sexuality, socialism, and humanity itself. Shot in black-and-white with cinematographer Otello Martelli, the movie plays like a circus with surreal images that seem to bend the world of reality and fantasy. Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Yvonne Furneaux, Anouk Aimee, Anita Ekberg, and Alain Cuny. La Dolce Vita is a brilliant, sensational masterpiece from one of the greatest filmmakers ever put in the face of the earth.

Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni) is a reporter riding on a helicopter that is carrying the statue of Jesus Christ above Rome as he later joins his photographer friend Paparazzo (Walter Santesso) at a nightclub. After meeting with a bored socialite in Maddalena (Anouk Aimee), Marcello takes for a ride and sleeps with her only to return home to deal with his self-destructive love Emma (Yvonne Furneaux). To report on the arrival of an American actress named Sylvia (Anita Ekberg), Marcello attends a press interview with the charming but not-so-bright actress who brought her boyfriend Robert (Lex Barker). Marcello takes Sylvia on a tour of Rome where they later go to a party with her friend Frankie Stout (Alan Dijon) and the alcoholic Robert. Leaving the party with Marcello, Sylvia frolics onto the Trevi Fountain as Marcello is in awe of her.

Despite having a life with all of its glamor, Marcello seeks to become a serious writer as he seeks the advice of his friend Steiner (Alain Cuny) who invites him to a party. Taking Paparazzo and Emma on an assignment on a sighting of the Virgin Mary claimed by two children. The event becomes an emotional turning point for both Marcello and Emma as they later attend Steiner's party as they meet his wife (Renee Longanni) and various friends. Envious of the life that Steiner has, he takes a job offer from Steiner only to realize that not everything is as it seems. In his attempt to write a novel and be away from Rome, Marcello meets a young waitress named Paola (Valeria Ciangotti) who gives him an idea of a life outside of the world he's lived in.

Reluctantly returning to Rome, Marcello takes his father (Annibale Ninchi) for a night on the town where they meet another of Marcello's friend in Fanny (Magili Noel). The night seems to be fun until his father had a brief heart attack prompting Marcello to question his own lifestyle. Attending another party with Maddalena and some friends to a strange party at a ruined home, Marcello starts to deal with his own faults as his relationship with Emma crumble. After another party and some tragic news, Marcello begins to question about the world he's lived in.

What makes La Dolce Vita such a rapturous film is Fellini's whimsical approach into taking a man's simple odyssey of life through a world of decadence. The film both plays itself to the point where things are way off and doesn't seem right yet at the same time, its lavish tone makes the film seem to make everything go crazy where it almost falls apart, but in a grand, Fellini way. The film truly belongs to Fellini since he's a man who likes everything to be a spectacle with the opening scene and all the cabaret things going in the night club to the decadence of the parties, including the final one where Marcello forces a woman named Nadia (Nadia Gray) to strip down. Every image, every frame, every thing that goes on in that movie clicks where it might seem too much for a three-hour movie but there was never a dull moment going on.

Fellini, the director, is a man who seems to love an image. With cinematographer Otello Martelli, the film has this evocative, wondrous black-and-white look where everything is huge, especially if you're watching it in the theater. Martelli brings a lush, romantic look to the film, notably the Anita Ekberg scene at the Trevi Fountain with Marcello. Still, the film is Fellini where he seems to fall in love with every image and there's always a great shot in that film where everything is going on. The film's screenplay doesn't lose itself to its excess since it plays to a simple story but is expanded by its excess. The film also has many questionable themes with characters of homosexuality and heterosexuality and also questions of spirituality, morals, and humanity itself.

Really, it's a story of a man trying to find answers to move forward and seeking love while wondering if he can move away from his playboy lifestyle. It's also an existential film of sorts while this man commits sins around him as he is helpless in his own faults as a man. The film is also a satire-of-sorts that would later foreshadow the world of fame with paparazzi and celebrities so this movie is isn't just a satire but it's also a romantic, comedic, dramatic film that really has no defining genre.

With Martelli bringing in a masterful photography to the film, credit also goes to the film's crew like production designer and costume designer Piero Gheradi for bringing in a detailed perspective of upper class Italian family homes. Even with its costumes ranging from the rich, lavish clothing of the socialites to the artier clothing that the character Nicollna (Nico) wears. With the a nice, stylized editing from Leo Cattozzo that helps brings the film a nice rhythm while playing true to its story. The film's music is also diverse ranging from rock n' roll, pop, and classical musical along with a comical and romantic film score from composer Nino Rota.

Then you have the film's huge cast of actors with small and memorable performances from Nadia Grey, Lex Barker, Alain Dijon, and Polidor as the clown in the nightclub scenes. Even future Velvet Underground vocalist Nico makes a memorable appearance as a model along with Ida Galli as the American debutante in the ghost search scene. Valeria Ciangottini brings a small, charming performance as Paola in her brief moment in the film while Renee Longanni and Magali Noel brought wonderful performances in their respective supporting roles. Annibale Ninchi is a standout as Marcello's father who seems to be the kind of man who is loved despite the fact that he wasn't around for Marcello very much. Walter Santesso is memorable as Paparazzo as a man who is just seeking for the right photographs while he has to forget the morality of his job since his job is to simply, take the pictures and don't ask questions.

Alain Cury gives a haunting performance as Steiner as a man who has everything but doesn't seem to have enough as he brings darkness to Marcello's mind. Anouk Aimee is lovely as the bored socialite Maddalena with her sexiness and manipulation, notably the ghost party scene where she asks for Marcello to marry her in a strange scene where's in one room and she's in another. Anita Ekberg is probably the most memorable performance of the entire group of actresses since she frolics around in the Trevi fountain as this actress who isn't very bright. While it's not a really a great character, Ekberg gives a defining performance that would be the inspiration for starlets consumed by their fame and wonderfulness. The film's best female performance is Yvonne Furneaux as the suicidal Emma who is a woman often neglected while believing she can save Marcello from his droll lifestyle. Furneaux brings a desperation to her performance as she seeks spiritual guidance while in the film's final act, she confronts Marcello as we also get the feeling that she may not save him because she barely save herself. It's a performance that doesn't get a lot of credit in the film.

The film's greatest and most iconic performance clearly goes to the late Marcello Mastroianni as Marcello Rubini. Mastroianni delivers a performance full of charisma and cool with his big-shade sunglasses and cocky swagger. Even after this movie, Mastroianni hasn't aged even when you see him in later fares. Mastroianni also brings emotional depth to a character that may look superficial but in his search for fulfillment, we see how much Marcello struggles. It's a performance that is defiant and by the end of the film, you love him and hate him at the same time as he accepts his own destiny where at the end, you wonder what will really happen to him. It's truly one of the greatest performances in cinema.

***Updated DVD Tidbits for 9/21/06***

Ever since the 1960 release of Federico Fellini's classic film La Dolce Vita, the film for the past 35-years has been a staple on not just an essential list of great films but also one of the greatest international films of all-time. In 2004, to coincide with a DVD release from Koch Lorber, the film was re-released for a brief period of time in the theaters as the 2-disc DVD presented the film in a new, digital remastered and restored edition for a new audience. A year later, Koch Lorber released a new box set of La Dolce Vita taking everything from the 2-disc set and added a lot more for this 3-disc Deluxe Collector's Edition which includes several collectible materials and new material of special features that runs at more than two-and-a-half hours.

The first disc of DVD includes a five-minute introduction from Sideways director Alexander Payne. Payne discusses on the film's influence and how he saw the film in the early 80s when he was just a film student in Spain. Notably talking about the influence of Fellini and how it would inspire him as a screenwriter and director where the film would show its influence for his 2004 classic film Sideways, notably the protagonist of Miles portrayed by Paul Giamatti. The film is shown in its 16x9 widescreen format along with original mono and 5.1 Stereo Surround Sound. Featuring English and Spanish subtitles in yellow and white letters, the film is presented both in English and Italian.

The feature-length audio commentary by noted film critic Richard Schickel reveals on the film's themes as Schickel gives his own interpretation on scenes, characters and such. Schickel takes break at times to watch a scene while giving his interpretation of the scene while giving insight into Fellini's background and the uproar he caused upon its release. Schickel's expertise in films really is educational on how he talks about the way Fellini shoots to the relationships Marcello has with all of the major characters. It's overall some of the best commentary of the film.

The second disc is filled with an hour's worth of material that starts off with a 35-minute collection of shorts and vingettes known as Fellini TV. Anyone aware of Fellini's work will get the idea. Everything from a puppet playing Dante selling watches, women in decadent, medieval clothing selling shoes, facial aerobics, a rock band going nuts, a singer executed, an Islamic heading mixed in with a debate on feminism to a funeral where it's a wine commercial. All of these little shorts and mock-commercials that are produced by the legendary Alberto Grimaldi are sometimes enjoyable and sometimes, purely self-indulgent. Still, they're very fun to watch right to the end about a joke involving a cow taking a dump. The four-minute Cinecetta-The House of Fellini is a musical montage that takes a tour of the offices and possessions of Fellini that reveals everything from statues, drawings, photographs, and chairs that is like a museum of sorts but shows his contribution to the famed studio.

The 12-minute Remembering the Sweet Life-Interviews with Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg includes a 1987 interview with Ekberg, a 1990 interview with Mastroianni at the 1990 Venice Film Festival, and an old footage of the two actors watching La Dolce Vita in the film Intervista. Ekberg recalls Fellini's sweetness along with the making of the film which she enjoyed. She admits that it didn't help her career since she got badly typecasted though she still enjoys being around Fellini and Mastroianni who at the time of making the film spoke little English and she spoke little Italian by then. Mastrioianni recalls how he worked with Fellini in the film and where originally, he wanted Paul Newman for the role but couldn't get him. The interview also showed a rare clip at the Venice Film Festival where Mastroianni is awarded a lifetime achievement Golden Lion presented by Fellini himself.

The six-and-a-half minute Fellini, Roma, and Cinecetta is a rare TV interview with Fellini in the 1980s as he discusses his love for Rome and his contributions to Cinecetta where he shot all of his films there. He recalls that Cinecetta is a part of Rome while shots of the city itself including the famed Trevi Fountain are shown as it reveals Fellini's love for Rome and his roots where his mother's family lived there for several generations.

The 8-minute Restoration Demo shows three important scenes on the film its old, 1960 film to its restored, remastered form. The first scene is the famous helicopter scene with the statue carrying where the original footage is light in black-and-white but with some spots on the film while on the other side of the same footage shows the restored version. The restored version is clearer yet a bit darker in its grey to show how the film looks now where it looks even better. Two other sequences for the second party scene with Anita Ekberg and the famed Trevi Fountain sequence reveals the difference in audio. The original footage shows the audio in full splendor where its loud yet some of the dubbing is off-track. In the restored version, the audio is fuller yet is aware of everything else that goes on while the dubbing is more on track while the force of the fountain in the Trevi Fountain scene is felt more.

The last major feature of the second disc is a large photo gallery feature that features stills from the film and the making of the film to present the richness and joy into the making of this masterpiece. The biographies section features the bios of Fellini along with composer Nino Rota and actors Mastroianni, Ekberg, and Anouk Aimee. The filmography section reveals the extensive work of Fellini, Mastroianni, Ekberg, Aimee, and Yvonne Ferneaux. The second disc also includes a link to the Koch Lorber label along with several trailers of films from the company including Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Five Obstructions from Lars von Trier and Jorgen Leth.

The third disc begins with one-hour documentary on film composer Nino Rota. Entitled A Musical Friend-The Maestro Nino Rota, the documentary explores his background as a child prodigy who made orchestras and operas by age 11 while considered to be one of the most gifted composers of his young age. Born in 1911, Rota came into films by the late 30s at a time when Italy was under the rule of Fascism and was only doing it to keep working. After World War II, Rota took his time away from his operas, film scores, and orchestral pieces to be a teacher at a conservatory where two of his pupils are interviewed about his work method and how he can create melodies through a theme he often uses. Directors Lina Wertmuller and Franco Zeferelli discuss his collaboration with directors, notably Fellini, Luchino Visconti, and Zeferelli himself who is aware that when he was making Romeo & Juliet, Rota took his time into making a score that was in tune with the time of the story. Wertmuller talks about his collaboration with Fellini where despite their different approach to creativity, it was magical as the two loved each other's company as Rota worked on nearly every film of Fellini since 1952 when they first met. The doc also discusses briefly on his work in other films including his most famous work for The Godfather movies.

Another interview with Anita Ekberg arrives in a new 2004 interview. The 19-minute interview reveals Ekberg talking about her film career and how she became an actress working in a production company for John Wayne. She also talked about her role in La Dolce Vita where she admits, wasn't much of a stretch as she played a bit of herself and other movie stars at the time. She also talked about how she often liked to go barefoot where she cut her foot on the night they were going to prepare the famous Trevi Fountain scene. When they went to prepare that scene before production in the winter, it was very cold and she felt very sorry for Marcello Mastroianni who was scared to go into the water and actually fell into the fountain flat on his face. She nearly got sick in that fountain while was more worried for Mastroianni. She also discussed her friendship with Fellini where his wife had suspected that they had an affair which she claims was untrue that she and Fellini were great friends. She also talked about the film's release where it nearly got banned by the Vatican in its release and for 20 years in Spain, the film was banned.

The next interview is an old 1960, four-and-a-half minute interview with Fellini about the film's controversy where he talked about an irate couple who tried to kill each other after watching the movie. He also talked about why his film shouldn't be taken seriously since it's a work of fiction while responding to the criticism he's received including from directors like Luchino Visconti and Roberto Rossellini. The 1960 Cannes Film Festival interview with Marcello Mastroianni is a two-and-a-half minute spot where Mastroianni tries to talk about the film's reaction at the Cannes Film Festival. Mastroianni is aware that the film has divided audiences while he does his best to respond to what people think and stuff.

Two more interviews arrive from colleagues of Fellini. First is an 8-minute discussion with one of Fellini's close friends in Rinaldo Gelend. Gelend discusses the themes of the film while doing a lot of the casting and talking about Fellini's own relationship with his often absent father. Geland also had claims that Fellini did have an affair with Ekberg along with other actresses because he loved women too much. The second interview is rare footage from Tullio Pinelli, one of the last surviving screenwriters behind the film. The six-minute interview revealed how Pinelli met Fellini and their collaboration on a script that eventually became La Dolce Vita. Pinelli discusses themes, notably about two characters he created, the girl Paola and the character of Steiner. A bonus interview comes from a recent documentary about Fellini from actor Donald Sutherland where he briefly talks about Fellini and La Dolce Vita and how Mastroianni almost didn't do the film. Sutherland also talked about when he was making Casanova, Fellini received a telegram from Universal who were honored to work with him and wanted to please him where Fellini gave a response.

Added to the box set which is presented in a large, leather-like packaging with a gold drawing of Anita Ekberg walking around are two different essays on the film. The first is a 40-page collector's booklet featuring an essay from Peter Bondanella, an expert in the works of Fellini. Bondanella discusses Fellini's career and the uproar of La Dolce Vita when it was released since it challenged a lot of moral behaviors and images that angered the Catholic church. The essay talked about the filming details which began in March of 1959 and finished shooting in August of that year before its official release in Italy on February 1960. Bondanella discusses the themes and character development that is in the film and its importance to cinema.

The second essay from Dennis Bartok discusses the film's impact on culture and media along with its success in giving Fellini international prestige. Though much shorter than Bondanella's essay, Bartok does revel in its impact along with its testament that when Marcello Mastroianni died in 1996, the famed Trevi Fountain was shut down and draped in black to mourn the famed superstar. Bartok also briefly discusses on the film's impact on fashion where the film has reveled in its decadence and such. Finally, there's two collectibles that fans of the film would enjoy. First is a large, 11"x17" poster of the film itself. The second collectible are five 5"x7" photographs in black-and-white that reveals the iconic images of the film. In the end, this 3-disc Deluxe Collector's Edition is a must-have for anyone who is a big fan of the film.

***End of DVD Tidbits***

La Dolce Vita is an extraordinary yet exciting film from Federico Fellini featuring an outstanding performance by Marcello Mastroianni. With dazzling yet surreal images, Nino Rota's sumptuous score, and an amazing ensemble cast. It's a film that remains very lively and hypnotic more than 50 years since its release. For anyone wanting to figure out who Fellini is, this is the best place to start. In the end, La Dolce Vita is a timeless yet magnificent film from Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) - (The White Sheik) - I, Vitelloni - (L'amore in Citta-unagenzia matrimoniale) - La Strada - (Il Bidone) - Nights of Cabiria - (Boccaccio '70-Le tentazoni del Dottor Antonio) - 8 1/2 - Juliet of the Spirits - (Histoires extraordinaire-Toby Dammit) - (Fellini: A Director's Notebook) - Fellini Satyricon - (I Clowns) - Roma - (Amarcord) - (Casanova) - (Orchestra Rehearsal) - (City of Women) - (And the Ship Sails On) - (Ginger and Fred) - (Intervista) - (The Voice of the Moon)

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

2012-01-29T14:37:00.000-08:00

Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory is the third part of a trilogy of films relating the 1993 child murders at Robin Hood Hills in West Memphis Arkansas where three teenagers were accused of the crime. Starting with its first documentary in 1996 and its follow-up in 2000, the third film follow Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. as they each serve prison sentences for the crime. When their defense team and support group uncover more proof of their innocence, it leads to secrets of incompetence relating to the case as well as a new suspect. The result is a more thrilling yet evocative film from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky.

In the first two films about the murders that happened back in 1993, a lot of fingers were pointed at Damien Echols as being the supposed ringleader of the murders as part of a Satanic cult ritual. Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. all have maintained their innocence as the most of the film’s first half is a look back at the previous films with new comments from lawyers and various people from the previous films. Particularly as Echols’ attorney talks about the evidence that was overlooked leading to the 2007 press conference that revealed new evidence that proved that the three men are innocent. What is more shocking is the new suspect that is presented in the form of Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of one of the murder victims in Stevie Branch.

While Hobbs maintains his innocence while going into a defamation suit against Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines over comments she supposedly made. There is some evidence about the fact that he is a suspect which is presented by John Mark Byers, the stepfather of victim Christopher Byers, with facts about Hobbs’ whereabouts on that day. The Byers character, who had been a prominent figure in the previous films, is shown in a more restrained light as he has dealt with loss as well as being a suspect. Since he didn’t kill the children, he revealed his own faults of accusing the three men who had been suspected. Through the new evidence revealed, he becomes a supporter while receiving an apology letter from Echols who had suspected him years ago.

The film also picks up where the second documentary left off as Echols was facing a death sentence as he, Baldwin, and Misskelley kept fighting through appeals with help from the West Memphis 3 support group and their attorneys. Misskelley reveals more about what happened on the day he made his false confession which showed more injustice from the police department. A former secretary for a lawyer revealed that jury tampering had happened because someone wanted to be a foreman for the jury in the Echols-Baldwin case back in 1994.

The structure of the film is much tighter than its predecessors due to the fact that the film is presented in chapters. The first one is a prologue about everything told in the previous films and the second and third chapters are about the new evidence and suspicions towards Terry Hobbs. Then comes this epilogue at the time the film was in post-production where it revealed something that could’ve prevented a trial and more appeals to happen in the coming years. What Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley are given is in the form of a compromise which would end the film. Yet, it’s an unsatisfying one considering the legal circumstances that is presented. Not surprisingly, there is a sense that justice was not served and the fact that the real killer is still loose somewhere. The accused aren’t satisfied nor are their families and the families of the victims. It’s a very mixed reaction considering what the three men had to do to be freed.

While the direction of Berlinger and Sinofsky is still the same in their approach to open the film with aerial shots of West Memphis. Yet, there is a more sense of control to that presentation as it isn’t as overt while they get to be on camera in a few instances as they talk to Echols in an interview and deal with the aftermath of the case. With camera work from Robert Richman and wonderful editing by Alyse Ardell Spiegal to gather all of the old footage to create new ones. The technical work is still stellar as the music features a haunting ambient score by Wendy Blackstone as well as songs from Metallica.

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory is a superb film from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky about the West Memphis 3 and the murders they were accused of. For those who hadn’t seen the previous films, it does give viewers a chance to see what was shown in those films without really needing to see them. For those that had seen the previous films, it would give them a chance to piece out everything else that had seen to figure out what was missed. In the end, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory is an excellent and provocative documentary from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky.

Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky Films: (Brother’s Keeper) - Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills - (Where It’s At: The Rolling Stone State of the Union) - Paradise Lost 2: Revelations - (Some Kind of Monster)

Paradise Lost 2: Revelations

2012-01-28T20:03:00.000-08:00

Paradise Lost 2: Revelations is a sequel to the 1996 documentary about the murders that occurred at Robin Hood Hills in West Memphis, Arkansas. Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, the film explores the aftermath of the trial that accused Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. of killing three eight-year old boys back in 1993. Notably as Echols faces a death sentence as a support group and lawyers try to help their case out where they uncover new evidence and a possible suspect. The result is a more intriguing yet brooding documentary from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky.

In the second part of the Paradise Lost trilogy, a support group of the West Memphis 3 try to keep the case open for the public as its alleged ringleader Damien Echols faces a death sentence in 2000. While Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin are currently serving different sentences, both maintain their innocence as Misskelley reveals that his confession was false due to the threats and badgering he received from the police. Misskelley’s attorney from the first case chooses to stay on as he also helps out Echols and Baldwin with help from a defense expert and the support group where they would uncover a piece of evidence overlooked from the previous case.

With the mothers of Echols and Baldwin talking to the filmmakers as well as Misskelley’s father, the one person that is up and front about the case is John Mark Byers. The father of one of the victims in Christopher Byers, Byers is definitely the scene-stealer of the film as he becomes confrontational towards the support group as he becomes a suspect. Particularly as his wife Melissa had died mysteriously in 1996 as her cause of death remained inconclusive. Yet, Byers is also known for various incidents relating to theft and assault while there is a very crazy scene where he returns to the crime scene to make a gravesite for the accused in a very strange ritual with fire.

While Byers is among one of the most interesting people in the film, it is still about the case as a more subdued Damien Echols reflects on the first film and everything else that has happened. Notably as Echols fights for his appeal after he felt the lawyers in the first film didn’t do an adequate job in defending him once the support team, Misskelley’s attorney, and others find evidence that could prove their innocence. What is revealed proved that there wasn’t just a sense of incompetence by the defense attorneys and those who are supposed to look into the autopsy. It also proves that there could be a cover-up.

The direction of Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky does repeat some of the same visual traits such as the aerial shots of West Memphis and moving the camera around the actual crime scene. The approach is more different as it utilizes more news footage and material from the previous film to reveal what happened then as the people who were previously interviewed reflecting on the past. There’s scenes where Berlinger and Sinofsky get a chance for Echols to speak via speakerphone for an online chat he has where he briefly gets to talk to his mother. With the help of cinematographer Robert Richman and editor M. Watanabe Milmore, the film’s look and editing approach to the film is still the same but there’s also a much tighter feel to the pacing that keeps it from lagging. The film’s music is once again supplied by Metallica which adds to the film’s haunting quality as Baldwin’s mother finds herself relating to the song Nothing Else Matters which is played a few times in the film.

Paradise Lost 2: Revelations is a mesmerizing yet suspenseful documentary from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. The film is a brilliant yet superior follow-up to its predecessor as it unveils more clues and secrets about the possible innocence of the West Memphis 3. It also creates a very interesting character in Mark Byers as a man trying to deal with loss as well as maintaining his belief that the three men did kill those kids. It’s also a film that allows someone to go back and watch the first film and see what got overlooked and figure out that there could be more that is missing. In the end, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations is a remarkable yet powerful film from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky.

Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky Films: (Brother’s Keeper) - Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills - (Where It’s At: The Rolling Stone State of the Union) - (Some Kind of Monster) - Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills

2012-01-28T13:38:00.000-08:00

Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is the story of the murder of three eight-year old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas as three young teenagers are accused of murder. The documentary explores a small town being torn apart by these gruesome murders which leads to a trial as these three teenagers try to maintain their innocence. The result is a very harrowing yet evocative documentary from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. Paradise Lost is a harrowing yet chilling documentary about the West Memphis 3 and the murders that happened.

The documentary tells the story of an entire year from the day of May 3, 1993 when the bodies of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch were found at a ditch in the woods of West Memphis, Arkansas. Three teenagers named Jessie Misskelley Jr., Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin were accused of the murders as its first hour focuses on the murder and Misskelley’s confession that led to the arrest of Echols and Baldwin. Notably as some believe that Misskelley’s confession was false and forced upon a kid who was scared. The film’s following hour-and-a-half focuses on the Echols/Baldwin trial as they are accused of Satanic rituals which they deny while Christopher Byers’ stepfather Mark is alleged to be a suspect because of a knife he had.

Throughout the story, the parents of the victims and the accused are interview as they each share their own feelings about what happened. The victims parents including Mark Byers each express their own hatred for the accused as Byers hopes that the day they die, he spits in their graves for what they did. There’s a scene of Byers and Michael Moore’s father having a shooting practice at a pumpkin which express the hatred these two fathers have for these teenagers.

Though directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky don’t try to portray any of the people interviewed as caricatures but as real people dealing with grief and in the situations they’re in. Particularly the accused as they’re often seen as being different because they wear black, have interest in the occult, and listen to heavy metal music. The most interesting person of the accused is Damien Echols who truly understands what is going on as he and Baldwin try to maintain their innocence. Even their family backs them up while there’s a scene where the girlfriend of Misskelley’s father tries to tell him to cut him off.

In the presentation of the film, Berlinger and Sinofsky create a documentary that is set in this small Arkansas town with aerial shots of the town as well as wandering, hand-held camera work on the actual location where the bodies are found told in the span of nearly a year. The duo choose to create a film where they observe everything that is happening as they let everyone from the families, the accused, attorneys, and various other locals get a chance to say something where they’re revealed to be just human beings that have something articulate to say. They’re not these poor, rural people from the South but real people who are affected by these murders.

Through the camera work of Robert Richman and the editing provided by Berlinger and Sinofsky, the film explores a lot of what happens through news footage of the trial and various news reports. While the film is quite long for its 150-minute running time where the pacing does lag a bit in some of the interviews and conversations between lawyers. It does reveal what goes on and what the defense team tries to do while there’s also some people who try to help the families deal with the media over the case. The film’s soundtrack is largely dominated by the music of Metallica that plays to the dark mood of the case as it’s the music that Echols and Baldwin are fond of.

Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is a very gripping yet unsettling documentary from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. While it’s not an easy film to watch as it features some very graphic and gruesome images of death. It is still an intriguing one that uncovers the West Memphis 3 case and how it would progress in its following films. In the end, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is a haunting film from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky.

Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky Films: (Brother’s Keeper) - (Where It’s At: The Rolling Stone State of the Union) - Paradise Lost 2: Revelations - (Some Kind of Monster) - Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory