the videostore

The Happening (and M. Night Shamalyan in general)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:00:00 +0000

The Happening?
More like, What the fuck Happened, Shyamalan? Pull your head out of your ass! You are not the next Hitchcock! You're movies are predictable and each gets worse (not to mention worse and worse lead actors). I still don't know if the whole thing was just a ham, or if the camp was 'Hitchcockian' - excuse me - 'M. Night Shyamalanian' (yeah, like that's going to catch on).
And the worst part? (No not the fact that people are attacked by trees - but close) Is the fact that you not only ripped off The Birds (you should have called it The Plants - grandmothers and gardeners everywhere would have paid and they probably would put it up with their other favourite movies, Driving Miss Daisy and Calendar Girls) but the fact that it stinks of ideology. (Warning, deeper analysis) For example, when does the terror end? When the father-figure (Marky Mark) reasserts his union with the Mother- (Zooey Deschanel - what are you doing in this movie?) and child-figures. The implication, of course, is that only the willful preservation of the family unit can halt terrorism. Oh, and a hammer-to-the-head message about environmentalism. Is that what Hitchcock was about? No, the union of the family 'unit' in The Birds precedes the bird attacks and is never resolved.
My conclusion? Fuck off, Shyamalan! Your movies tend to be weak and transparent!

The Dark Knight

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:04:00 +0000

Hello reader. Yes, I've been away for a while, but I can't pass up a blurb about this film!

It's everything the critics are saying: this film is excellent!
Comparable to The Departed... one of the best crime films in ages... Heath Ledger is truly ghoulish...
Go see it!

Ugly - Because this is a dark, dark film.

Lone Star

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:52:00 +0000

This movie was recommended to me by one of my film profs last fall as an example of postmodern cultural identity. He admitted to not really knowing much about postmodernism. Fair enough, I mean come on, who really does? The dubious postmodernism of the film aside, it is definitely comparable to a film like Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, in that it presents the complexities of an American social reality (in this case a Texan, rather than Brooklyn), particularly by raising the slippery question of who is Texan and why.
The film borders on the allegorical as it attempts to answer the question with characters representing historical cultural groups of the area. Yet the further the film explores the history of its characters, the more apparent the complexity of the issue is.
What is most surprising about the film (formally, at least), is the sparsity of landscape shots that one usually expects from Westerns. Then again, Lone Star isn’t your typical cowboy movie.

Good - because it includes tasteful incest.

Directed by John Sayles

The Thin Red Line

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:30:00 +0000

I have to confess that I had an unconscious stigma against this film. I think it was because it came out around the same time that Saving Private Ryan did, which really is no means to judge a movie. Even after watching Days Of Heaven, Badlands, and The New World I didn't really want to watch it. But Terrence Malick hasn't disappointed me yet and the same holds true of The Thin Red Line.
The film couldn't be any more unlike Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (which touted itself as a deglorification of war, while still shamelessly flag-waving). The common complaint I've heard is that the film was slow and boring. I take boring to mean 'a general lack of action'; slow is self-explanatory. Although anyone familiar with Malick's ouevre will know to expect 'slow and boring', I think the more appropriate point is noting that where Saving... uses an excess of gore and violence to deglorify war (only to be matched ten years later by the fantastic Rambo), Malick's film deglorifies it by eschewing action and bravery. Instead he portrays another ugly, and more human reality of war: waiting, and being scared.
Malick tasteful incorporates stars (Sean Penn, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, and George Clooney) without being overwhelmed by their stardom. And like many of his other films, the narrative is well matched (if not exceeded by) with the use of neo-classical scores and the heavy poetics of his hallmark cinematography. A definite watch for Malick fans, or anyone looking for a gently realistic portrait of war.

Good - because an anti- war film has never looked so good.

Starring Sean Penn, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, George Clooney, John Travolta
Directed by Terrence Malick

The Counterfeiters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:13:00 +0000

I promised my girlfriend no one got killed in this movie, but really, how was I supposed to know? It’s a movie about Jews circa World War II. Chances are pretty good that some are going to get killed and, of course, some do. So now you know and you have no excuse to lie to your girlfriend, boyfriend, whoever.
What is most striking about the film, is that it removes itself ever-so-slightly from its context (not entirely, of course; it would be impossible to make a movie set during the Holocaust and have it simply melt into the background), so that the film is less about Holocaust martyrdom and more about level-headed, pragmatic prison politics a la Don Corleone from The Godfather.
There’s nothing particularly special about the camera-work: shaky handheld camera and implicating zooms are both reminiscent of that found in The Office (although in The Counterfeiters the zooms seem more random).
The film is the story of a handful of Jews given special priviledges and relatively regal living conditions, because of their ability to counterfeit money which the Nazis use to flood the British and American economise. There is a sort of capitalist ends-justify-the-means morality tale, but ultimately, the film questions their hardships and their authenticity as survivors of the Holocaust.

Ugly - the Holocaust always is.

This Is England

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000

DVD reviews are on the menu, due to popular demand, this being my first. Get ready for a hot pile of pretentious reviews about obscure films. You asked for it.

This Is England is the story of an English boy, Shaun, growing up in a pissant town during the early eighties. Tired of being picked on, he befriends the first people that are nice to him, namely a group of older local skinheads. Although there are slight allusions to racist tensions within blue-collar England, the film is more implicitly about bullies, cowards, and a kid; the result is a film whose characters act so human (both good and bad) that you feel as though your own head is bald.
The film is largely predictable in mood, but if you're okay with that, then you might find the more subtle narrative closure a pleasant change. I won't go into gross details about the plot, but I will tell you that the film is a pleasant addition to Britain's repetoire of quality productions. The film makes another point that I think needs to be reiterated: skinheads are not necessarily neo-nazi racists, and if you generalize them as such, you're no better than those that are.

Ugly - Because some of the people in this movie are.

Written and directed by Shane Meadows

The Tracey Fragments

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:34:00 +0000

The latest film by Canadian director Bruce McDonald, The Tracey Fragments is the schizophrenic story of fifteen-year old reject, Tracey Berkowitz (Ellen Page) and her broken home. Essentially the film is set in Winnipeg while Tracey looks for her missing brother (who thinks he’s a dog), but it would be impossible to reduce the film to such simple terms. McDonald employs a (more or less) non-linear progression of events, along with a heavy and consistent use of splitscreening to reflect Tracey’s scattered sense of being. The music scored by Canada’s supergroup, Broken Social Scene, likewise lends to Tracey’s sense of aimlessness and in combination the two create a mise-en-scene of breaking and being broken. Aside from the split-screens, McDonald employs other avante-garde techniques, like the actor's direct address of the audience and the insertion of the opening credits a quarter-way through the film. However, like the other films that I’ve seen by McDonald (Roadkill, Hard Core Logo) the pacing is rushed (the film was only an hour and fifteen minutes!) leaving the film feeling half-baked—not even Page’s performance could save the sometimes unnatural dialogue. Nonetheless, the film is convincingly disturbing and you can’t help but sympathize with the character; and despite its shortscomings, seems promising of Canadian cinema.
Then again, how many times have Canadian critics said that about Cronenberg/Egoyan/McKellar?

Bad - frankly, not everyone is as forgiving as me.

Starring Ellen Page
Written by Maureen Medved
Directed by Bruce McDonald

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:41:00 +0000

Winner of the Palmes d’Or at Cannes in 2007, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is the story of a college girl, Otilia, helping her pregnant roommate Gabita get an illegal abortion in communist-era Romania. Written and directed by Christian Mungiu, the film is the opposite of Oscar-winner (best screenplay) Juno in almost every conceivable manner: where Juno is set in affluent sub-urban America, 4 Months... is set in a stark, poor Romanian city; where Juno uses smooth tracking and classic Hollywood editing, 4 Months... uses handheld camera and long takes; where Juno uses the same damn song over and over, 4 Months... uses almost no music at all. But the greatest polarity of the films is regarding the issue of abortion: where Juno glosses over it, 4 Months... demonstrates that in some place the option is not so casual. This isn’t meant as a criticism of Juno. In fact I lauded the maturity portrayed by Ellen Page’s eponymous character in that film, and in those terms 4 Months... plays opposite, again: the girl getting the abortion is child-like and needy. 4 Months... serves as a companion piece to Juno (and vice-versa) in that it makes a valid statement for the other side of the pro-life, pro-choice coin. What the film boils down to, is not the circumstances that justify abortion (it’s never mentioned in the film why the girl decides on it), but that choice is a luxury that some parts of the world take for granted. I'm not one to jump on bandwagons, but this is the best film I have seen all year.

Ugly - reality often is.

Directed by Cristian Mungiu

In Bruges

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:19:00 +0000

As far as I can tell, comedy is the juxtaposition of conflicting truths. For example, a pair of cold-blooded hitmen and a picturesque Belgian town. That is the essence of In Bruges (rhymes with Rouge). However, the movie only half succeeds on either account. Neither hitmen (Collin Farrel, Brendan Gleeson) are truly cold-blooded (Collin Farrel falls in love with a local girl played by Clémence Poésy, and Brendan Gleeson often acts like his mother), nor does Bruges come off as all that dull (Farrel meets the girl on the set of a movie about midgets). Instead, In Bruges is the story of warm-hearted hitmen in a surreal, circus-esque Bruges. Still funny, sort of. If anything, the film is less a comedy of terrors and more a semi-metaphysical reflection on life. Bruges comes to represent heaven, hell, and pergatory depending on the character and ends up being a bit of a morality tale of reformation, vaguely reminiscent of Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting in terms of plot. However, the similarities end there. It does have it’s witty parts (and more than a few shockingly gory parts) but by the end, the film is most definitely not a comedy. You might like this film if you liked Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Ugly - seriously, some gruesome shit, but also because I feel very neutral about it.

Directed by Martin McDonagh

Be Kind Rewind

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:24:00 +0000

Being a clerk at an independent video store that still carries video cassettes, there was no way I was going to miss a movie about a couple of guy’s working at an independent video store that still (and only) carries video cassettes. Be Kind, Rewind is just that and so much more. It’s the story of two guys (Jack Black, Mos Def) in New Jersey that make remakes of the modern Hollywood classics (we’re talking along the lines of Ghostbusters) to save a dying video store. Some of the issues that the film deals with place it well within realism (the reality of gentrification, but also the accurate portrayal of anal-retentive video store customers). At the same time, director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) masterfully adds vaudeville expressionism in a way that lends a pleasant absurdity without dismissing it as entirely so. Even Jack Black spares us from overperforming and delivers a role comparable to that in High Fidelity. If you liked Juno you might like this film, but with a rating of PG don’t expect anything edgy. I don’t usually say this, and when I do it’s not intended as a compliment, but it is here: watch this film at home, on your television, and preferably on VHS.

Favourite quote from the film:
Jack Black: “Is it NTSC?”
Customer: “No, it’s brand new!”

Good - because I liked it.

Starring Jack Black, Danny Glover, and Mos Def (Sigourney Weaver, too)
Directed by Michel Gondry

Helvetica

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:04:00 +0000

...is your standard talking-heads documentary, only this time the subject is the world’s most popular font. Don’t be deceived by the seemingly dull subject or it’s well-worn genre. Directed by Gary Hustwit, Helvetica reveals the origins of the eponymous typeface, the modern typographic industry (yes, there’s a whole industry), and how astoundingly prevalent the use of Helvetica is. The film succeeds in revealing a fascinating world of graphic design and the even more fascinating people in that industry while informing us about the cool side of typographic design. Helvetica is a much appreciated relief from the rash of preachy shockumentaries (Fahrenheit 9/11, The Corporation) and the cheeky mockumentaries of the past ten years or so, and a return to the educational, yet entertaining variety of docs that are more reminiscent of the BBC’s recent Planet Earth series. Although the wonders of typography await the graphically uninitiated, according to sources in the graphic design industry, it doesn’t reveal anything new.

Good - because it's educational.

Directed by Gary Hustwit

I'm Not There

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:07:00 +0000

Anyone who has been following my blog for the past three weeks or so knows how much I’ve been looking forward to this film. I have to admit that I try to see films with as little foreknowledge about them as possible: on the one hand to make as clean and objective an opinion as possible, on the other because it has been my personal experience that expectations are the leading cause of disappointment. And although I have read the odd (well . . . a few) review for this film, I definitely did not see the trailer. In fact, the majority of my excitement has been based on the fact that the local independent theatre that was slated to screen the film about three or four weeks ago, didn’t until last night. This is all just a long winded way of saying...
This entry is by no means tainted with failed expectations. So, please, read this entry bearing in mind that it is based on my own observations and is intended only as such.

Directed by Todd Haynes, I’m Not There is the latest tribute to Bob Dylan and perhaps the most innovative biopic to date. There is certainly something documentary-esque about the non-linear portrayal of the many facets of the musicians life, but at the same time that discontinuity coupled with the surreal, sometimes Burton-esque elements, creates an avant-garde discord that compliments the elusive characterization of Dylan. I don’t usually care to talk about performance, but considering that Dylan is played by six different actors, it seems unavoidable. I have to admit, individually none of the actors is capable of impressing Dylan’s presence, but together they succeed in illustrating how illusive that impression is. Kudos to Cate Blanchett (though she reminded me of Bart Simpson every time she said ‘Man’) and Marcus Carl Franklin; I found it hard to see most of the other performances as anything other than ______ playing themselves. As someone that admits to not knowing a lot about Bob Dylan, I found the movie a little inaccessible. That said, I don’t feel qualified to make any criticisms based on the movie’s portrayal of the musician’s life. I’m sure droves of people that aren’t as familiar with his life and work as the guy that works in the record store, will go and snap up all of Dylan’s music and other paraphernalia after seeing this film. And although there seems to be a great irony about that, there are definitely nods throughout I’m Not There that suggest Dylan’s own mixed feelings about being a product. It's a clever film, and a definite breath of fresh air for the biopic genre. Having always liked - but never obsessed - with Dylan's career and music, the film definitely encourages a mythology around the bard and the desire to know more about him.

Ugly - because some stuff was good and some stuff was bad.

Starring Christian Bale, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianne Moore, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere
Directed by Todd Haynes

I'm Through With White Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:03:00 +0000

The second film by independent filmmaker, Jennifer Sharp, I’m Through With White Girls is a racially-charged romantic comedy about misfits. Jay Brooks is a black man who breaks the stereotype mould and for that reason, doesn’t think he can meet a black woman that would be interested in him. Hence, he only dates white girls. Being a romantic comedy, of course, he finds himself stuck in the revolutions of the same dating cycle and seeks to break it. He does. He dates a black girl . . . and they hit it off . . . and then they fall apart . . . and then they get back together. In other words, your standard rom com. The neophyte acting and writing aside, Sharp makes a laudable effort to evince the complexity of racial issues merged with class and gender. And there is definitely a recurring motif about the deception of appearances throughout the film; however, lessons about the superficial take a backseat as the film’s genre takes over and the true meaning of the film comes to the for — men have commitment issues. It’s not very likely that you’ll find this film, but if you do, don’t expect the polish or gravity of a Spike Lee film. Do expect a cute, better-than-novice-but-still-not-Hollywood romantic comedy.

Bad - everybody's got to start somewhere, but it's not the greatest.

Directed by Jennifer Sharp

Rambo

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:22:00 +0000

. . . or, as I like to call it Rambo versus the Yellow Scourge, is the story of Vietnam veteran Jon Rambo who becomes embroiled in a mission to save a group of missionaries from a sadistic Burmese military camp. The film is the first and only Rambo flick to date that’s been directed by it’s star, Sylvester Stallone, and quite honestly, it shows. The laconic script, the brutish editing, the excess of body parts — all reflect Stallone’s character. And yet this ‘what ya see, is what ya get’ approach is something of a blessing. Stallone spares us the sappy background stories, the limp relationships, the flaccid morality tale — and delivers what Rambo fans want: Stallone killing everything and getting away unscathed. As a bonus he keeps it to a concise hour and thirty minutes (like Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, also a bloody film). Having said that, what astounds me is not the latest installment of another 80’s spawned film series, but the viewer response on IMDB which goes something like this: “This [movie] had one hell of a message, and wasn’t just a mindless action movie with gore”. No? How about, “watching Stallone act so well was a total pleasure”. Hmm. Or, “It was also kind of shocking at how Stallone is still in [such good] physical form, considering his age”. Didn’t he get busted for using Human growth hormones?

Ugly - do I need to explain?

Directed by Sylvester Stallone

There Will Be Blood

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:45:00 +0000

The word in the film’s title that comes closest to describing a theme of the movie is surprisingly not blood, rather will. Directed by P.T. Anderson (Magnolia) and based on Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!, the film revolves around the mania of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) as it mutates from respectable stoicism to abusive madness while he pursues his dogged quest for oil. There is most definitely an impulse to see the film as an allegory of the gestation of the two greatest spheres of Texan influence – oil and religion – but the film is more plainly about the single-minded will for absolute power. Although Plainview is reminiscent of other megalomanic characters, like Captain Ahab or those recurrent of Herzog’s Kinski epics (Fitzcarraldo, Cobra Verde), the protagonist’s insanity is hidden by an uncanny patience and practicality reflected by the film’s slow (but nontheless enrapturing) pacing. The most astounding feature of the film, however, was Jonny Greenwood’s unsettling and unpredictable score, creating a tension that contrasts and yet simultaneously evinces the well of anger under Plainview’s stony surface. If you liked No Country For Old Men, then I’d strongly recommend There Will Be Blood.

Ugly - Hate is an ugly thing.

Directed by P.T. Anderson

Cloverfield

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:32:00 +0000

Nothing about Cloverfield is particularly original. It’s a Godzilla-esque plot with Blair Witch Project cinematography and love in the background just to make it interesting. But it works. Well. Written and produced by Drew Goddard (Lost) and directed by Matt Reeves (The Pallbearer) Cloverfield is, like The Blair Witch Project, the playback of footage discovered after the incident. The incident being a monster terrifying Manhattan. The footage begins as coverage of a friend’s surprise going-away party and turns into the pursuit of a group of ever-dwindling friends to save another on the other side of the city (and the epicenter of danger). The monster, though little more than a MacGuffin, is terrifying, but the camera is the true source of terror. As in Blair... the use of cinema vérité obscures, hides, and ultimately confuses, emphasizing the anxious claustrophobia felt as the diminishing group scrambles through the tunnels and rubble of a disintegrating New York City. But my favourite part is the writing. There is nothing particularly memorable about the dialogue (aside from passing the monster off as “a terrible thing”), the strength of the writing lies in Goddard’s (dare I say, postmodern) approach. Like Lost, the plot is not driven by the given details, but by the lack thereof; by the who, what, wheres that the film provokes.

Good - not heavy, but fun.

Directed by Matt Reeves

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:53:00 +0000

Based on the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric, La Moustache) and his eponymous book. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the recollection of what life is like with “locked-in syndrome” — a rare condition which leaves its victims utterly paralyzed. The story of Jean-Do (as he is known by his friends) is made possible by the single blessing that he still has the motor use of his left eye and, through the innovation of his speech therapist, the opportunity to communicate by virtue of blinking. After an expected bout of self-pity and loathing, Jean-Do lives up to the challenges of permanent immobility and perpetual boredom by writing a novel about his condition, one blink at a time. To describe the film as “a moving testament of the human will” and “a triumph of the human spirit” come off cliché (and sound a little fascist, no?), and yet that is what this film is (moving, not cliché and fascist). Even the cinematography captures Jean-Do’s condition perfectly: the first five or ten minutes of the film are shown from the discombobulated perspective of his left eye and the camera never strays from this perspective. Only when he delves into his mind or opens up to the world around him in his patient, methodical fashion does the camera gain distance and perspective on Jean-Do’s challenging condition.

Ugly - because that's what a theatre full of weeping people is.

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Starring Mathieu Amalric
Directed by Julian Schnabel

Margot at the Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:24:00 +0000

. . . is exactly what it’s title says it is: Margot (Nicole Kidman), an uptight, urban mother, and her son gone to the wedding of her estranged sister Pauline and fiancé Malcolm (Jack Black). Directed by Noah Baumbach, the film is noticeably similar in its dialogic style (and to a lesser degree, its characters) to that of Wes Anderson’s films. The influence of which isn’t all that surprising if you keep in mind that Anderson produced Baumbach’s previous film, The Squid and the Whale. Like Anderson’s films, the dialogue is constant and revealing; the characters, token misfits. The difference, however, lies in Baumbach’s mise-en-scene: where Anderson uses brightly coloured, elaborate sets, Baumbach’s are relatively austere and realistic; where Anderson uses a lot of highly stylized, formal camera work (like planimetric shots and recessive spaces), Baumbach’s is more subtle and utilizes a cinematography reminiscent of 80’s photography. Anderson’s use of clever, toe-tapping tunes is also absent. In fact, there is almost no music at all. I’m not trying to say that Baumbach got it wrong, nor compare him unfavourably to Anderson. What I am trying to do is send a warning. If you’re expecting a sweet tale of human absurdity (like the kind Anderson delivers), you’re going to find this film a little sour. It talks the talk, but it doesn’t walk the walk.

Ugly - c'mon. it's about a dysfunctional family.

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Starring Nicole Kidman, John Turturro, Jack Black, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Directed by Noah Baumbach

Juno

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:50:00 +0000

Directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) and written by fellow blogger, Diablo Cody, Juno is the quirky story of an unwanted teenage pregnancy. Fourteen year-old Juno (Ellen Page, Hard Candy) does ‘it’ with her best friend Paulie Bleeker for the first time and enough to get her pregnant. Everything expected ensues: abortion is considered and abandoned, she tells her parents about her growing problem, and she continues going to school all the while. What is unexpected is the maturity and assertiveness Juno possesses during her pregnancy and her subsequent decision to give the baby up for adoption. In fact, although there is no denying that Juno’s growing belly is what drives the plot, the film is less about teenage pregnancy and more about the responsibilities of parenthood. It is refreshing to see a movie pregnant with the potential for high drama to substitute a roller-coaster of mood swings with examples of good parenting, especially in a society where pregnancy without consideration of its consequences seems to be all the vogue (following the lead of Hollywood’s beloved celebrities). If you liked films like Lars and The Real Girl or Little Miss Sunshine, you might like Juno, only you can expect the sense of innocence that the former possess to be lost in this film.

Good - because that's what the bandwagon will tell you.

Starring Ellen Page, Jennifer Garner, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman
Written by Diablo Cody
Directed by Jason Reitman

The Kite Runner

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:50:00 +0000

...is the story of an Afghani-American writer and his childhood in Afghanistan, especially concerning his friendship with his father’s servant’s son. The first half of the film recounts the childhood of Amir (the writer) up until he flees Afghanistan with his wealthy father when the Russians invade, not because of the Russians, but because of his father is a communist sympathizer. The second half of the film gives some details about his life in America before he receives a phone call from an old friend asking him to return and save his nephew. There is a very blunt theme about bullies and having the courage to stand up to them which is all done very dramatically, supposedly a good thing considering this is a dramatic film. However, drama is easy enough to come by and perhaps the sign of a good drama is the ability to suggest, rather than embellish, emotion. In any case, The Kite Runner (directed by Marc Forster and based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini) definitely has points that are cringingly over-dramatic, however sparingly, and is only redeemed by Homayoun Ershadi’s (Taste of Cherry) performance as Amir’s father.

Bad - it was okay.

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Starring Homayoun Ershadi
Written by Khaled Housseini
Directed by Marc Forster

No Country For Old Men

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:48:00 +0000

The latest of the Coen Bro’s films, based on the novel of the same title by Cormac McCarthy (author of All The Pretty Horses, The Road), is the story of Vietnam veteran Llewellyn Moss and his theft of two million dollars from the site of a botched drug deal. The rest of the film is about the ensuing manhunt by both parties of the bloodied dope smuggling, two individual hit men, and the county sheriff. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Josh Brolin (Planet Terror, The Goonies) and Javier Bardem (Collateral, Love In The Time of Cholera), the film is almost completely empty of the dry humour that the Coen Brothers’ are known for and replaces it with an evil sensibility unknown in their works since Barton Fink. Although it shares the familiar Midwestern setting and criminal plot of previous films Raising Arizona and Fargo, the similarities end there. If you’re the type that only goes to the movies when a real bombshell comes out, then go see No Country For Old Men. If you’re the type that likes a Western, an Action flick, or a Coen Brother film, then go see No Country For Old Men. If you are a cinephile, novice or veteran, then go see No Country For Old Men is a must. If you don’t watch movies, go see this one.

Good - !!!

Starring Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones
Written by Cormac McCarthy
Directed by The Coen Brothers

La Moustache

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:47:00 +0000

As you might have guessed this film, directed by Emmanuel Carrère, is about a moustache – or the lack thereof. The plot revolves around a bourgeois Parisian couple, Marc and Agnès, and the surreal consequences that ensue after Marc shaves his moustache of fifteen years. The film wastes no time dispensing with the ‘stache’ and Marc’s hope for petty surprise and attention are dashed when none of his peers acknowledge the sudden absence. Marc suspects them of playing an elaborate joke on him, but as he becomes more paranoid they become more resolved that it never existed. Gradually, everything he felt certain about is questionable and previous facts become delusions. The film focuses all the more on Marc as his grip on reality disintegrates leading him to flee to Hong Kong, a place as foreign to him as Paris has become. Don’t let the film’s simple title and simple sounding plot discourage you from watching this gem. The cinematography is beautiful and equally matched by a haunting score by Philip Glass. If you’re already a fan of contemporary French cinema (especially the bourgeois surrealist stuff) then you’ve probably already seen this. If you do watch this film and find you liked it after all, then check out Michael Haneke’s Caché.

Good - a psychological thriller about a moustache? and it works? trés bien!

Score by Philip Glass
Directed by Emmanuel Carrère

Lars and the Real Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:47:00 +0000

Lars and the Real Girl, directed by David Gillespie, is the story of socially inept Lars (Ryan Gosling) who orders a very anatomically correct sex doll and suffers from the delusion that she is a real person – and his girlfriend. The hilarity of the film follows from its awkward premise and the discomfort that some of the characters have in dealing with Lars’ condition. After such performances in films such as The Notebook and Half Nelson, Gosling has successfully avoided being typecast once more. At least for now. Overall the film seems to capture the same sense of off-beat, sweetness that Little Miss Sunshine possessed; however, the sweetness of Lars’ innocence is darkened by allusions to bad parenting, as well the almost palpable physical awkwardness about Lars’ relationships with everyone that isn’t ‘the real girl’. If you liked Little Miss Sunshine, you’ll probably like this film, and if you like this film, you might also like Juno.

Good - cute.

Starring Ryan Gosling
Directed by David Gillespie

Fred Claus

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:47:00 +0000

Directed by David Dobkin and released with the Christmas season, Fred Claus is (unsurprisingly) the story of Santa’s older, jaded brother who moves to the North Pole in order to scam money off his jolly bro, but ends up saving Christmas instead (surprise). Admittedly I didn’t expect a lot from this movie, except maybe that it would be a little edgier than it was. Nope. Sadly, this film comes out of the same Christmas cookie-cutter of other terrible yuletide films (Santa Clause). To be honest, this movie blows and the only reason I saw it was because I had spent a good three months only watching films by Aleksandr Sokurov and Theo Angelopolous (two very modernist filmmakers from Russia and Greece, respectively) and needed a good piece of fluff to get me back into the Hollywood schlock. I don’t recommend this movie. At best it is a sad conglomeration of several good actors into an equally sad attempt to innovate a new spin on the Christmas thing. This movie, along with most of its ilk, are what make me feel like vomiting during the festive season. But rather than bitch about what stinks, the least I can do is recommend some good (or decent) Christmas films: Badder Santa, A Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original, animated version), and Die Hard (okay, not exactly festive, but it takes place during Christmas). Merry Xmas.

Eastern Promises

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:45:00 +0000

Cronenberg’s latest film is the story of Anna (Naomi Watts, I Heart Huckabees), a nurse, and her encounter with the Russian mob. She becomes involved after a pregnant 14 year-old prostitute dies in the hospital where she works. She finds a diary written in Cyrillic and asks her conveniently Russian uncle to translate it in order that she identify the girl and any relatives that can look after her surviving baby. Her search leads her to the Russian mob, for whom the girl worked, and the film’s focus shifts to Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), who mysteriously helps her. Like A History of Violence, Cronenberg’s latest film is a definite break from the subject matter of horror and virtual reality in his previous films (Shivers, Existenz), but still continues with his familiar themes of bodies and their interactions through sex and violence. The film seems praiseworthy, yet the question remains why? Despite it’s subject matter, the fact that the diegesis only alternates between the family of Anna’s home and the family of the Russian mob, seems to detract from any social commentary about its setting (east London). And yet, the metaphor of family is reduced by the poor development of, and often superficial, familial relations. There is perhaps something of a morality tale here about Kirill’s repressed homosexuality, but it is weakened by the predominant focus on Nikolai (Mortensen). It seems that Cronenberg is once again striving for the familiarities of his other films, but where A History of Violence succeeded in achieving those themes with its simplicity, Eastern Promises loses itself in trying to say too much.

Ugly - because naked people fight