Black Sheep Reviews: A film review site.

BLACK SHEEP IS MOVING!

2013-06-14T11:18:00.000-04:00

Black Sheep Reviews is moving! There are still boxes everywhere and I'm still trying to figure out where everything goes but you can come check it out now!

If you subscribe to the site by e-mail, you will need to subscribe to the new site to keep getting updates from me. Please do so when you have a minute. I would not want to lose a single one of you readers.

Currently on the new Black Sheep Reviews, there are all new reviews for THIS IS THE END and THE BLING RING, an interview with Brit Marling from THE EAST, as well as contests to win passes to see THE BLING RING and THE KINGS OF SUMMER. And there's more to come this weekend, like my review of MAN OF STEEL, as well as reviews for a bunch of Pixar classics from youngsters across the country.

So what are you waiting for? Get to the new Black Sheep Reviews right now!

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA

2013-06-02T17:14:00.002-04:00

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA
Written by Richard LaGravenese
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Rob Lowe and Debbie Reynolds

Liberace: I hate my life sometimes, I really do.

It all starts innocently enough, or as innocently as is possible given the surroundings, in a West Hollywood gay bar, or I should say, Steven Soderbergh’s version of a gay bar anyway. A yellowed filter sets the tone as a bright light burns behind the bar for contrast, and one man is approached by another for a chance meeting that will change his life forever. Instantly, you know just by sight alone and without any question that BEHIND THE CANDELABRA is a Soderbergh film. What you don’t know at this point is that you’re about to see Soderbergh at his absolute best.

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA is essentially a love story but one unlike any I’ve ever seen. The relationship between famed piano virtuoso, Liberace (as played in the film by Michael Douglas), and Scott Thorson (Matt Damon), if we are to believe everything we see in this film, is truly one of the most troubled and damaging in the history of relationships. As it is told and shown here though, for all its difficulty, the love they shared was also the most beautiful either had ever known. Perhaps they just didn’t know what to do with it when they found it.

Or perhaps they doomed themselves from the very start. I will say that I am very pleased that Soderbergh, along with screenwriter, Richard LaGravenese (whose work has never been this direct, honest or subtle), took some liberties with the ages of their characters. There are only 26 years difference between Douglas and Damon. When Liberace met Thorson, there were 40 years separating them, with Liberace being 58 in 1977 when they met. (You do the math!) Their love story is a lot to get past but I doubt any viewer would have gotten past their age difference if they had cast it accurately.

Not too long after meeting Thorson, Liberace invites him to move in, which is his first mistake (if you ignore the 40 years between them). Thanks to some very convincing chemistry between Douglas and Damon, it is clear that there is an attraction, as well as affection, developing between them. All the same, and perhaps again because he just doesn’t know how to handle genuine emotion, Liberace invites him onto his payroll at the same time as he invites him into his bed. Thorson moves in right away and the rest of the film focuses on the time they spent together.

Misguided intentions run rampant throughout BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, and do, on some level, make for a strong case for gay marriage equality. Let alone that both of these gentlemen grew up without much love in their lives but, as gay men, especially as gay men in the public spotlight, they were not free to confirm that love openly. And so they sought out other ways to solidify their bond, from Liberace proposing adoption to Thorson so that they can technically be family, to Liberace eventually funding a plastic surgery overhaul so that Thorson would look more like Liberace himself, as though they were again, related. They both want to belong but they are going about it all wrong.

Communicating this delicate balance requires a focused screenplay, with a strong sense of purpose, as well as delicate yet determined direction. It also requires two incredibly fearless performances to make any of this circus seem even remotely believable. I would never think to pair Douglas and Damon in this way but they both blew me away. In fact, when they first meet, you can feel the sexual tension between them burning when Liberace stares directly at Thorson and states emphatically and cheekily, “That’s what I’m all about. I love to give people a good time.”

As Liberace, Douglas is flamboyant and unapologetically so. He never plays him as a joke though. This is a man who had a fancy for much younger boys, who enjoyed decadence and excess, who believed himself to be the reincarnation of a king and who was raised, not so surprisingly, by an overbearing mother. Douglas plays Liberace with tons of charm and charisma, but also with a great deal of awareness of how Liberace lived in a constant state of performance. He was lying to his public about his sexuality so as not to destroy his career and sadly, performance became a defense mechanism at home as well. At one point, it isn’t clear whether he’s fooling everyone else or just himself.

Clearly, Douglas has the showier role, and he prances up and down his stage in full glory. So it becomes Damon’s part to ground the picture. He is young and naive and just looking to be loved. Of course, once you add spoiled rotten to being loved, it can be difficult to separate the two. Thorson, whose biography this film is based upon, became a drug addict while he was with Liberace and, by the time their relationship was at its worst, was nothing more than a pill-popping, stay at home sex toy, and one that was getting older at that. Damon gives a very ernest performance, which allows us to see his life slipping further and further away from him in great detail.

Together, Douglas and Damon are the real deal, made only more believable by the brilliantly recreated sets and costumes that surround them, as well as the incredible supporting cast. Scott Bakula and Dan Aykroyd give solid performances but their show is stolen by, firstly, Rob Lowe, as a permanently stoned, yet highly skilled plastic surgeon, who can barely even keep his eyes open. And then there’s Debbie Reynolds as Liberace’s mother. She is entirely unrecognizable, and with only three scenes in the entire film, she leaves a mark that is almost as unforgettable as the two stars.

Soderbergh is very selective in what he shows us in BEHIND THE CANDELABRA. Bits of information about Liberace’s life and his relationship with Scott are efficiently thrown in here and there so that you feel as though you’re getting the full picture of their lives. More importantly, by not focusing too intensely on any one piece of Liberace’s legacy, the relationship is allowed to feel more real as the central focus of this almost unbelievable tale. After all, amidst all of this excess and all this melodrama, were just two men from Wisconsin looking for love and hoping to hold on to it. That Soderbergh was able to find that center underneath all the glamour and glitter is what makes his work here truly dazzling.

NOW YOU SEE ME

2013-06-01T11:13:00.000-04:00

NOW YOU SEE ME
Written by Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent

Dylan Rhodes: Wait, did you say magicians?

They say the trick to magic is misdirection. Distract the audience with something flashy over there so they don’t see the nuts and bolts of the trick happening over here. This must have been the very same logic that was applied to NOW YOU SEE ME when they decided to cast it with a plethora of easily recognizable faces. The logic being that if I’m awed by seeing Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Common and Melanie Laurent on screen all at the same time, I couldn’t possibly see how thin and implausible the film I’m watching is. And just in case you’re savvy enough to see past that bunch of actors, why not throw in a couple of pedigreed thespians like Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine into the mix? Between those two, all the younger faces and some non-stop special effects, maybe people will think they’re watching a Christopher Nolan picture. Alas, no. You’re actually watching a movie from the director of the CLASH OF THE TITANS reboot instead.

The following is what director, Louis Leterrier, is trying to draw your attention away from. Four individual magicians (Eisenberg, Harrelson, Fisher and Franco), all of which have various levels of success and talent, are mysteriously called to an abandoned apartment in New York City, all believing they are being summoned by one of the greatest magicians of all time. A plan is revealed to them there and they all gladly accept to partake in hopes that their careers will be boosted by the inevitable attention they will get. And so, the Four Horseman, which is what they call themselves, are born. They then embark on a series of magic shows that defy all expectation and capture the world’s attention because their particular brand of trickery also involves an element of thievery. Of course, whatever they steal, they give back to their public so they are naturally adored. And because their thefts are clouded by smoke and mirrors, the authorities (Ruffalo and Laurent), from the FBI to interpol, cannot figure out how they are doing any of it or what they will do next.

We are essentially instructed at the onset of NOW YOU SEE ME to not think too hard about what we’re about to see. Apparently, looking too closely at an elaborate illusion leads to seeing it less clearly. If you defy this advice though, what you do end up seeing is that Leterrier, along with his merry band of writers, are asking you to accept a number of highly unlikely scenarios that need to add up perfectly over a rather lengthy period of time in order for the Four Horsemen’s plan to come off as intended. You might also see how none of this extensive cast is pushing themselves very far past what we all know and expect of them. (What? Eisenberg is cocky? Caine is composed and authoritative? Craziness.) If you do follow this advice, which I’m sure the filmmakers would like you to do, then NOW YOU SEE ME can be reasonably entertaining at times, but if weren’t for the movie magic backing up their actual magic, the tricks themselves would likely just fall as flat as the film itself does.

THE KINGS OF SUMMER

2013-05-31T09:07:00.001-04:00

THE KINGS OF SUMMER
Written by Chris Galletta
Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Starring Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias and Nick Offerman

Frank: My house, my rules. This ends today.
Joe: Yes it does.

Being a teenager grounded in your room in the summertime is practically torturous and makes you the king of absolutely nothing. Joe Toy (Nick Robinson) lost his mother recently and is struggling to fit in both at school and at home. The kids at school tease and bully him, while his father micromanages him in an attempt to control and guide him towards a supposedly stable life. Well, Joe is having none of this any longer. He is his own man, dammit, and he will make his own way in the world and he doesn’t need anyone, least of all his dumb dad, to tell him how to do it. And so, he runs away one day and builds an makeshift house in a clearing in the woods outside of town with his two best buds, just like any real man would do. Together, they will be THE KINGS OF SUMMER.

Directed by “Funny or Die Presents” veteran, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, THE KINGS OF SUMMER is a charming and often quite funny indie film. It is however also, a tad forced here and there, a bit too slight here and there, and ultimately just undercooked enough to have left me somewhat underwhelmed. In part, my disconnect with the film stemmed directly from my interaction with the main character. Joe is such a typical teenager that at times, it is difficult to take him seriously as an actual character. Yes, his mother has passed away, and that has clearly left a gaping hole in his life, but he externalizes all of that anger and takes it out on the world around him, mostly focusing it on his father (played by Nick Offerman with great sincerity and earnestness). Does his father deserve his disdain? Of course not. I understand that Joe has to put this anger somewhere but when he aims it at those who don’t warrant it, it isn’t as easy to take his side.

I wanted to enjoy THE KINGS OF SUMMER more than I did. Although I find the concept of a boy wanting badly to grow up, who believes he is doing so by building what is essentially an elaborate treehouse and running away to it, to be quite telling and touching, the construction of this premise is too tenuous to be taken seriously. In fact, I was never quite sure whether Vogt-Roberts wanted me to take all of this seriously or not. On the one hand, the film works as a light comedy. On the other hand though, kids running away isn’t a terribly funny topic. So when something serious like this is only occasionally treated with seriousness, the tone can be confusing and uneven. Coming of age means coming into your own and I feel THE KINGS OF SUMMER, and the team behind it, still has a little ways to go.

THE EAST

2013-05-28T09:13:00.000-04:00

THE EAST
Written by Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling
Directed by Zal Batmanglij
Starring Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard and Ellen Page

Sarah: Why is it self-righteousness goes hand in hand with resistance movements?

The new eco-thriller from the minds of up and coming screenwriting duo, Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling, entitled THE EAST, plays about as far east from the middle of the road as one can expect from a studio picture. And with it, Batmanglij and Marling make the leap from independent filmmakers - their first effort being the festival hit, SOUND OF MY VOICE - to full fledged Hollywood filmmakers, without sacrificing one bit of their independent spirit. It’s a far cry from when they themselves lived the lives of nomads, hopping trains and eating discarded food out of dumpsters to survive. Had they never been there though, they might never have written THE EAST.

Marling also stars, just as she did in SOUND OF MY VOICE, in THE EAST, as Sarah, an undercover operative who infiltrates an anarchist group of eco-terrorists who live in some undisclosed woods. Her journey there was no simple one, mind you. To infiltrate this group, known as The East, Sarah had to convince them that she was just like them, that she rejected certain societal norms like having a home and a job to support said home. It also meant that she had to convince them that she was capable of going along with their plots to bring down giant corporations whose policies, practices and products were doing direct damage to the planet and its inhabitants for profit. Of course, in one of the film’s few conventional leanings, the lines become muddied for Sarah when she begins to get close to the group and begins to see their point of view.

What gives THE EAST its edge is not the supposedly shocking revelation that people eat food from the bins in the back of the grocery store instead of buying it off of the shelves, but rather Britmanglij and Marling’s ability not to pick sides. The company Sarah works for, which is led by a callous, Patricia Clarkson, follows whatever money that is thrown its way. It is not interested in doing any great good but rather will protect the interests of whoever can afford said protection. Meanwhile, The East is not so altruistic either. Naturally, the members are just people and people act upon their emotions. They have families and pasts that influence their decisions as well. In the end, THE EAST paints a rather tense but also rather bleak picture about the selfishness of humanity but in doing so, it just may open a few eyes to a whole other way of life.

THE HANGOVER PART THREE

2013-05-26T18:06:00.000-04:00

THE HANGOVER PART III
Written by Todd Philips and Craig Mazin
Directed by Todd Phillips
Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong

Stu: I told myself, I would never come back.
Phil: Don’t worry, it all ends tonight.

Todd Phillips debuted THE HANGOVER franchise four years ago and ignited a fiery craze among buddy comedy fanatics everywhere. Unfortunately for Philips, everything he’s given us since that initial introduction to those masters of destruction, the Wolf Pack, has been on par with actually feeling hung over. THE HANGOVER had some unexpected charm to it, fully embracing the notion that whatever happens in Vegas, absolutely has to stay in Vegas. After the horrible THE HANGOVER PART II took the action to Thailand, the whole gang has returned to where it all began for THE HANGOVER PART III, Las Vegas, Nevada, and for the better. Ending a trilogy requires a big bang, especially when the middle film was THE HANGOVER PART II. In the end, THE HANGOVER PART III lacks laughs, crosses lines that shouldn’t be crossed, and is only slightly better than the last mess. That’s a kind of bang, right?

If you’ve seen anything of the first two films, then you know that Zach Galifianakis’s Alan is high maintenance, significantly inept, and always getting himself, and his friends, into serious trouble. Would it really be a HANGOVER movie if the entirety of the problem didn’t stem from him again? After Alan is confronted and refuses to change his ways, the only thing that his brother-in-law, Doug (Justin Bartha) sees fit to do with him is send him into a rehabilitation centre. Unfortunately, due to Alan’s resistance, fellow Wolf Packers, Stu (Ed Helms) and Phil (Bradley Cooper) must accompany him or he won’t go. Cue expected mayhem. Remember when Alan bought roofies and drugged his friends in the first HANGOVER? Well, that’s come back to bite them now. And so has the infamous, Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). If the guys have learned anything at all over the years, it’s that Chow shouldn’t be trusted. The Wolf Pack never learns though so someone might finally want to wake up if they ever want to bring all the chaos to a close.

Phillips, who has penned and directed the entire trilogy, wanted to leave fans with something they would remember fondly, something they could savour after the Wolf Pack has gone away for good. THE HANGOVER PART III certainly leaves a distinct taste in your mouth, but by no means is it a good one. Think of the taste in your mouth after a night of binge drinking perhaps. Sure, there are some cheap laughs and a great line here and there, but there is also an awful lot that is just plain off putting, including an absurdly unnecessary amount of animal cruelty. What THE HANGOVER PART III does have going for it, is that it is at least a fitting end for this uneven trilogy. The conclusion does feel natural so at least there’s that. Plain and simple though, a good comedy, like say, the original THE HANGOVER, for example, has many moments of hilarity without necessarily sacrificing character or plot. The fact is I’ve had head-splitting, vomit-filled hangovers that were funnier than THE HANGOVER PART III.

PS. If you still insist on seeing THE HANGOVER PART III, stick around after the credits. Funniest two minutes of the entire thing.

Guest Reviewer: Justin Waldman
@Jdubs12

BEFORE MIDNIGHT

2013-05-25T10:38:00.000-04:00

BEFORE MIDNIGHT
Written by Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy
Directed by Richard Linklater
Starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy

Natalia: Just like our lives, we appear and we disappear and we are so important to some but we are just passing through.

*** SPOILERS APLENTY ***

The latest, and supposedly last, chapter in Richard Linklater’s “Before” series, BEFORE MIDNIGHT, is both grander and darker then its predecessors. It is also a brilliantly fitting progression in Jesse and Celine’s story, that will surely satisfy the millions of fans who have been desperate to find out what happened to their favorite couple since they last saw Jesse mulling over missing his plane out of Paris while longing, and lusting, for his muse in her living room. Another nine years has passed since that moment and Linklater takes what started as a modern fairy tale, and what then grew into a potentially devastating regret, and gives the audience the chance to see what might finally happen to Jesse and Celine when they don’t have somewhere else to be before the sun rises or sets.

If you don’t want to know what happens next for Jesse and Celine (again, naturally, played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy), then read no further. As it turns out, Jesse did miss that plane that day in Paris, and he and Celine then embarked on a spree of passion that led to Jesse’s divorce and subsequent loss of custody of his son, Hank (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick). Flash forward to nine years later and Jesse and Celine are living in Paris but on summer vacation in Greece, with Hank and their two twin girls of their own (Jennifer and Charlotte Prior). They have been together this entire time but the same witty banter that first drew them to each other still flows freely between them. The conversation has changed though. They now speak to each other like a functional couple that is negotiating at all times to ensure the future of the relationship and the future of their individual selves within that relationship. And of course, they have these lengthy chats while strolling through scenic Greece so there is plenty to feast on both visually and intellectually.

Without a concrete reason for them to part company at a specific time, Linklater explores a more organic desire within most of us to break free from another person, despite how much time we’ve spent with them and despite how much we may care about them. In that sense, BEFORE MIDNIGHT imposes its own more metaphoric deadline upon Jesse and Celine. Formally, the film ends at midnight, but midnight can also refer to the fairy tale romance coming to an end, with chariots turning back into pumpkins and gowns turning back into rags. Neither Jesse nor Celine would dispute that the other is, and always has been, the love of their lives, but Linklater doesn’t allow them to have it all without fully realizing what all entails. In that sense, though their love may seem on the surface to be harder than it was 18 or 9 years ago, their love underneath that surface clearly goes deeper than either ever expected.

Click here to read my reviews of BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE SUNSET.

FAST AND FURIOUS 6

2013-05-24T11:11:00.000-04:00

FAST AND FURIOUS 6
Written by Chris Morgan
Directed by Justin Lin
Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez and Luke Evans

Brian: Maybe the Letty we once knew is gone
Dom: You don’t turn your back on family, even when they do.

Director, Justin Lin took over the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise in 2006, with the overtly disappointing TOKYO DRIFT. Since the true horror of that experience, Lin has gone back to basics by delivering an adrenaline-filled plot that captures the essence of the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise. FAST AND FURIOUS 6 is a character driven tale of family and revenge, with loads of unspeakably insane action. This stretch of the franchise has been Lin’s baby and he truly has done great things with it, especially considering his particularly rough start. Introducing a movie, then backtracking and doing a three-part prequel is a risky move. (Yes, the last three films are in fact prequels to TOKYO DRIFT.) The move paid off though as FAST AND FURIOUS 6 truly highlights what this ever-growing franchise is really about: fast cars, family, and the lengths we will go for those we love.

The original gang is finally reunited in FAST 6, as Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), the leader of this band of former criminals, is on a mission to find out what really happened to his ex-girlfriend, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), after the events of FAST AND FURIOUS (2009). The entire Toretto family, biological and extended, may have left their life of crime behind them, but a new threat has Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), a bounty hunter who once tracked Dom’s gang, coming to Dom and friends for help. Hobbs needs them to assist in taking down Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), a wanted drug trafficker and killer. Shaw’s team may appear more dynamic and prepared than Dom’s but the only real question is who will emerge from the wreckage.

Chris Morgan, who has penned the last four FAST AND FURIOUS scripts, brings the series to new emotional heights, as he plays with this now familiar family by exploring the extremes in their dynamics and the intensity in their characters. Unfortunately, FAST AND FURIOUS 6 is a fangasm movie. Without the previous knowledge of TOKYO DRIFT and FAST AND FURIOUS (2009) you may be a little lost. What makes FAST AND FURIOUS 6 something of a love letter to the fans, is that it answers questions that have been pondered for years, connects missing dots, and brings back a strong, enjoyable storyline that was lacking last time out. This may be Lin’s final instalment in the franchise, and he almost single handedly killed it in 2006, but he has certainly finished with a bang.

Guest reviewer: Justin Waldman
@Jdubs12

BEFORE SUNRISE / SUNSET

2013-05-21T08:46:00.000-04:00

BEFORE SUNRISE

Written by Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan

BEFORE SUNSET

Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke

Directed by Richard Linklater

Starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy

With BEFORE MIDNIGHT, Richard Linklater's unexpected next chapter in the lives of Jesse and Celine, just about to be released, there could be no better time to go back to see how a pairing that has touched so many out there got its start and where it has been since then.

I can't be certain but I doubt Linklater ever imagined when he met a girl and ended up spending the entire night walking around and talking with her so many years ago, that this event would not only become a film, but rather would become one of his defining works as a filmmaker and also go on to inspire cynical romantics around the globe to believe in possibilities once again. On paper, BEFORE SUNRISE is an experiment at best but on screen, thanks to the charming and somewhat surprisingly innocent performances by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, it is a reminder that love can happen when you least expect it. That being said, it is also a gift that can disappear almost as quickly as it appeared.

BEFORE SUNRISE is a tribute to happenstance. If it weren't for the obnoxious German couple arguing loudly on the train, Celine (Delpy) would never have changed seats and would most likely have never met Jesse (Hawke). Once they strike up a conversation, the exchange becomes a game to see how long they can keep the metaphorical ball in the air while they pass thoughts and ideas back and forth in an effort to impress and to connect.

And pass them, they do. After agreeing to keep each other company for one day in Venice before Jesse's plane leaves in the morning, they get off the train and spend the entire night walking around the beautiful city. It is actually quite fascinating to watch these two individuals carry on about philosophy and novels and art and love. You wait for an awkward silence big enough to take them out of the moment and remind them how ridiculous they're being but it never comes. Pulling this off is again testament to how natural Hawke and Delpy are with each other and themselves. It also doesn't hurt that the characters are in their early 20's and justifiably oblivious to how pedantic they come across.

During the course of their one evening together, they have many a moment that most couples with much more time with each other also have. They are shy but projecting confidence in the depth of their ideas. At times, they boost each other up, while at others, they tear each other down, almost without even realizing it. Their existence is particularly unique as their time together is both limited and entirely their own, given that they are both completely removed from anything they know and because his plane won't wait for him. As the evening progresses though, the reality that they may never see each other again begins to surface in both of their minds.

Their time together ends, just as it always had to, and we pick up with Jesse and Celine again nine years later in BEFORE SUNSET. This sequel was nominated for an Academy Award for its screenplay but I actually found it quite sparse compared to the first entry. Nine years after they met on the train, Jesse and Celine meet again in France, where Jesse is promoting his book that is based on their experience.

There are many things I like about the concept behind BEFORE SUNSET. Jesse and Celine and both nine years older than they were when they first met. Now in their early 30's, it is interesting to see what ideas are still at the forefront of their minds when they have a little more life experience to ground them more. We can also answer some questions that the previous film intentionally left up in the air, like did they sleep together or not that fateful night or did they see each other again six months later when they naively suggested they would do before parting ways.

There is much to catch up on but barely a moment to do so, which is my biggest complaint about this film. At a scant 80 minutes, the film unspools in near real time, allowing Celine to keep Jesse company, once again, before his plane has to leave. Only this time, he only has a little over an hour. While I'm sure this type of scenario could very well happen in reality, to force this restriction on these two characters feels somewhat punishing and leads me to wonder why Linklater even bothered reuniting them if he wasn't going to give them a chance to breathe.

All the same, their chemistry is still there and, to a large extent, neither character has fully let go of their romantic night together. That night has seemingly informed much of how they approach their romantic lives, with many of their experiences not measuring up with the ideas they've built up over time about just how grande that simple evening truly was. I mean, Jesse wrote a book about it; that's how obsessed he is with it. And of course, both have asked themselves countless times in their head, what if things had been different? What if they had tried instead of freezing that moment in time forever?

Linklater once again leaves Jesse and Celine's future up in the air, as Jesse sits in Celine's living room listening to play her guitar, with his departure time getting closer and closer. Will he make it to the airport on time? Will he catch a later flight and maybe stay the night? Will either one leave their current partners to finally find out what it might be like to be with the very idea of love they hold in their hearts? We will just have to watch BEFORE MIDNIGHT to find out I guess.

BEFORE SUNRISE

BEFORE SUNSET

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

2013-05-19T12:07:00.000-04:00

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
Written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and Benedict Cumberbatch

Kirk: That was a good fight.
Pike: Now, there’s your problem right there.

The last time we caught up with the crew of the Starship Enterprise, a new audience was being introduced to some familiar characters who all had fresh faces. J.J. Abrams’ first attempt to boldly go where in fact many had been before, genuinely felt like maybe no one had actually gone there before. The 2009 STAR TREK was an incredible success; Abrams deftly reinvigorated a franchise that many thought was completely played out. He brought in a brand new audience without entirely alienating the original fanbase, which is all the more impressive when you consider how much he changed some of the long established lore of the series. In the follow-up, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, Abrams picks up where he left off and shows us that many of these young Star Fleet academy fledglings still have a thing or two to learn despite their success. The same can be said for Abrams himself.

Captain James Kirk (Chris Pine) has just inherited the Enterprise after a rapid rise through the ranks of Star Fleet. His expedited journey to the captain’s chair may now prove to be premature as we catch up with him, and his crew, breaking as many regulations as he can, all for the pursuit of what he personally believes to be what is right for everyone. Meanwhile, his commanding officer, and complicated best friend, Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto), is facing the fact that though he may try to avoid emotion in most circumstances, he cannot control how others feel about him at the same time. Both must learn that their egos must be put aside from time to time to see what is going on around them and how it affects the people in their lives and, after they are both very briefly demoted and reassigned, they find themselves fighting alongside each other once again. This time, they will need to work hand in hand if they are ever going to defeat their new foe, the infamous Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch).

Original screenwriters, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, brought on frequent Abrams collaborator, Damon Lindelof (PROMETHEUS), to help bring STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS to a whole other level, with mixed results. On the one hand, as Kirk and Spock become more familiar with Khan and his plan, it becomes more and more difficult for them to discern the truth in their mission. Perhaps it is my lack of familiarity with the Trekkie history or perhaps it is Cumberbatch’s incredible ability to disorient the viewer with his nearly impenetrable stoicism, but I was riveted throughout the film while trying to decipher just who to trust. That being said, Abrams also allows the film to make the most of some of its more manipulative moments, sometimes so much so that it almost takes away from the overall credibility of the project with obvious music cues and blatant foreshadowing. The missteps are minor but the crew best not get too comfortable in future voyages. I wouldn’t want the final frontier to get any more mainstream then this.

MUD

2013-05-18T09:25:00.000-04:00

MUD
Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols
Starring Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan and Reese Witherspoon

Mud: It’s a hell of a thing, a boat in a tree.

Do not be fooled. Just because you see Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon above the title, does not mean you are about to watch another mindless romantic comedy. I’m not sure about Witherspoon but it would appear that McConaughey is done with those, at least for now. MUD, the latest film by independent filmmaker, Jeff Nichols (TAKE SHELTER), is also the latest in a string of films where McConaughey is clearly challenging himself as an actor. Here, he has shed his pristine shine and looks like something that washed ashore years ago and hasn’t bathed since. More importantly though, he is actually succeeding in his quest to reinvent himself and MUD may be his best work yet.

MUD is a fairly straight forward, yet still solidly engaging, coming of age tale. Ellis (Tye Sheridan, fresh off his debut turn in THE TREE OF LIFE) is content with his simple life living with his parents along a river in Arkansas until one fateful week where everything changes. One minute, he’s a normal teenage boy, getting himself into trouble by sneaking off to a neighbouring island at dawn to work on an abandoned boat he found in a tree. The next, he finds himself helping out a fugitive he meets on that island, named Mud (McConaughey). Mud is hiding out until he knows the coast is clear for him to reunite with his childhood sweetheart, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon, giving her best performance since WALK THE LINE), who is laying low at a motel in waiting. Their love is complicated and troubled to say the least but in Ellis’s eyes, Mud’s mission to be with her despite all obstacles is exactly the inspiration he needs, what with his parents just announcing that they are divorcing.

MUD reminds us that to come of age today does not have to mean getting lost is a barrage of social media and sexually explicit marketing ploys. And thanks to honest performances from the entire ensemble, which also includes Sam Shepard, Sarah Paulson and a hilarious turn from Nichols regular, Michael Shannon, we are also able to get away from the distractions of our supposedly modern lives and remember what it means to truly fight for love while having no idea whether or not it is truly worth fighting for.

CONTEST: THE KINGS OF SUMMER

2013-05-15T08:53:00.000-04:00

WIN TICKETS TO SEE THE KINGS OF SUMMER IN CALGARY, OTTAWA & WINNIPEG!

Thanks to the great people at eOne Entertainment, Black Sheep Reviews has 10 double passes to give away to see Sundance sensation, THE KINGS OF SUMMER in Calgary, Ottawa and Winnipeg in the coming week. Here are the screening details:

CALGARY
Thursday, June 13, 7:00 @ Globe Cinemas

OTTAWA
Monday, June 10, 7:00 @ Coliseum

WINNIPEG
Thursday, June 13, 7:00, Empire Grant Park 8

If you're interested in procuring one of these double passes for yourself, just follow these instructions:

1. Follow @blacksheeprevs on Twitter. Once you do, tweet your peeps about the contest and link back to this page. Make sure to tell me what city you want the passes for in your tweet. If you already follow @blacksheeprevs, there is a convenient button at the bottom of this post. Just click it and you're in!

2. Like Black Sheep Reviews on Facebook and share the group page with your friends or like the contest link itself. You must then send the Black Sheep page a message so that I can reply with the winning details. No message means no win! There is also a convenient Facebook button at the end of this post that will allow you to share the contest with your friends too.

One entry per person. Winners will be selected at random draw and you have until Sunday, June 9, at 12:00 PM (EST) to get your name in that draw. Only winners will be contacted.

Thank you again to eOne Entertainment. THE KINGS OF SUMMER is now playing in select cities, expanding on June 14. Here is the trailer:

Best of Black Sheep: STAR TREK

2013-05-14T12:34:00.001-04:00

STAR TREK
Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg and Leonard Nimoy

James T. Kirk: Who was that pointy-eared bastard?

How long has it been now? It seems like the last star date was light years ago, that a franchise that had been a cultural mainstay for decades had finally drifted into its final frontier. As the leagues of Trekkies grew older, it seemed that the obsession and admiration for Gene Roddenberry’s benchmark science fiction work would soon die out but one Trekkie would not hear of it. J.J. Abrams, the man responsible for creating a new faction of avid followers with his twisted series, “Lost”, stepped up to bring STAR TREK to this generation. The trick then became how to sell these classic characters to an audience that may widely know them solely as punch lines or wax statues while not shunning those who watched religiously and have had to wait seven years for a new installment. Abrams must be a master trickster then because his reboot feels alive and energized from start to finish. While making a movie to appease particular crowds, both new and old, Abrams has instead made a STAR TREK film everyone can get into.

I never cared much for the original “Star Trek” series and I was only a casual viewer of “The Next Generation”. I have nothing against Trekkies but I most certainly am not one. And I also admit that the thing I was most curious about this film was how Abrams could make STAR TREK relevant again. He did it by owning it. From the very beginning, STAR TREK dives into intense drama. A Starfleet ship is under attack by a rogue Romulan ship that appears out of nowhere and looks like a tentacled mechanical monster. People are dying all around and the situation is grim but the result is instant immersement in an alternate reality that is unfathomable and yet entirely convincing. We proceed to bounce back and forth between Iowa and the planet, Vulcan, as if they were mere minutes apart. Beings, both human and alien, exist in both plains seamlessly and it suddenly isn’t so difficult to relate. Even Michael Giacchino’s score is triumphantly, boldly proclaiming a resounding pride for the project as a whole. STAR TREK makes no apologies for what it is and no concessions to be here now.

Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman’s screenplay is surprisingly concise given their studio background. They were faced with the challenge of reintroducing characters that are cultural icons without desecrating their origins. The truth is that bringing the whole cast of characters from the original Enterprise as is could never work today. They are simply too dated to keep up with today’s pace. And while their new incarnations are much more limber, they also have their original values (and a few hilarious catchphrases) in tact. And Abrams did a fine job weaving the old and new into his fresh cast. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) is a cocky self-assured womanizer but Pine plays him with a well-hidden insecurity in the back of his head as to what he truly can accomplish. Ohura (Zoe Saldana) is a beautiful and fiercely intelligent woman on a mission to succeed. And Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto), the child of a Vulcan father and a human mother, is the most fascinating of them all. Quinto strikes the perfect balance of internal turmoil between honouring his Vulcan roots and indulging his human emotions. Perhaps most important though, the cast just seems to be enjoying every second of their time on deck.

Maybe I should just have a little more faith in reappropriating the past. This is the age of the geek after all so it shouldn’t be so surprising to see this resurgence now. I haven’t discussed the plot because it simply isn’t necessary. Suffice it to say, it is intricate and tight and a lot more fun not to know where anything is going at any point in time. It is such a smooth ride that you can just sit back and enjoy the comfortable warp cruising speed. I didn’t think he could do it but J.J. Abrams has boldly brought STAR TREK where no STAR TREK film has ever gone before … past the niche and to the masses.

(ps. is it wrong to think mr. spock is hot?)

FRANCES HA

2013-05-13T10:29:00.000-04:00

FRANCES HA
Written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
Directed by Noah Baumbach
Starring Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner and Michael Zegen

Frances: It’s sorta like they say there are all these other realities happening all around us but we can’t perceive them. That’s what I want in a relationship, in life ...

Noah Baumbach has a distinct voice as a director but that voice has been rather heavy handed as of late. This is one of the many reasons why his latest film, FRANCES HA, is such an incredible delight. It is whimsical and insightful and entirely adorable. It is perhaps his best work, as a director anyway, as the man can write a mean screenplay, since his Oscar-nominated THE SQUID AND THE WHALE. And I believe, this is in no small part due to the influence of his latest muse, Greta Gerwig.

Gerwig, who co-wrote the screenplay with Baumbach, and is also dating the director, plays Frances, a 27-year old amateur dancer, living in New York City and struggling to make it. She is, in theory, a total cliche. In reality though, Frances is a fascinating character that is brought to vivid life by Gerwig, in her most illustrious performance to date. When her best friend, Sophie (Mickey Sumner) gets the job, the man and the new apartment necessary to grow up already, Frances embarks on a meltdown that she is completely unaware of. Her struggle is told with so much subtlety and respect, making it very easy to love Frances, despite all of her obliviousness to her very real woes.

Baumbach shot FRANCES HA in stunning black and white, which grounds this otherwise light and airy experience, reminding us the whole time that Frances does have some serious decisions to make in her life. Before she gets there though, and the film is savvy enough not to be too specific about what she really figures out, if anything, we are treated to a charming, witty contemporary tale that dances as freely on screen as Frances does down the streets of Brooklyn. FRANCES HA is purely and simply a vibrant return to glory for Baumbach that will enchant all who are fortunate enough to see it.

THE GREAT GATSBY

2013-05-12T16:49:00.000-04:00

THE GREAT GATSBY
Written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton

Owl Eyes: You won’t find him. This house and everything in it is an elaborate disguise. Gatsby doesn’t exist.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is generally considered by authorities on the subject to be one of the greatest American novels ever written, if not the greatest, and a cautionary tale on the more selfish aspects of the American dream. Before this year, it had been adapted for the screen four times, the most famous of which was made in 1974, directed by Jack Clayton, and starring Robert Redford as the title character, Jay Gatsby, a wealthy socialite and mystery to most who meet him. As effective and timeless as the novel is, the film versions have never resonated with that same weight or properly captured the souls of these seemingly soulless characters. Now, yet another attempt has been made to tame this beast of a work, by one of today’s most vivid filmmakers, Baz Luhrmann, and with it, yet another filmmaker fails to capture what actually makes Gatsby great.

In many ways, Luhrmann would seem like the perfect choice to bring THE GREAT GATSBY back to life. The first half of the novel is all glamour and excess and parties that seem to go on for days at a time. If anyone knows how to party on screen, it’s Luhrmann, whose previous films, like MOULIN ROUGE and ROMEO+JULIET, showcased some of the most chaotic and crafty festivities I’ve ever seen. In those examples though, he was still able to cut through the pandemonium to get to the crux of the characters. In his latest, and most expensive, extravaganza, he doesn’t seem the least bit concerned with what’s hiding underneath all the facade. In fact, at times, the elaborate guise he constructs feels forced and, worse yet, often stinks of overcompensation for a glaring lack of depth. Luhrmann has never been one for subtlety but his work has never felt so far removed from reality either. And when you’re adapting a classic of this magnitude, missing the mark to this degree can almost be misconstrued as an insult to its legacy.

Luhrmann also seemed a good fit because of his ability to bridge the gap between the potentially dated and the contemporary. THE GREAT GATSBY is a commentary on class division and the social injustices suffered at the hands of the disenfranchised to allow for the excessive self-indulgence of the well to do. Given the current class issues faced by many Americans, I would have expected these comparisons to be glaringly obvious, but Luhrmann is too busy throwing money at the problem in hopes we don’t notice (which is ironic really, but not all that engaging). There are certainly elements of THE GREAT GATSBY that work, from Leonardo DiCaprio’s charismatic portrayal of the complex title character to the thrilling, and often thumping, soundtrack. Carey Mulligan is magnificent as Gatsby’s love interest; Joel Edgerton is appropriately creepy as her philandering husband; and Tobey Maguire is, well, competent at least, as the film’s narrator. The cast’s grasp of the subject matter elevates the occasional scene past its visual pomp, but ultimately cannot sustain the bumpy ride. In some ways, I suppose highlighting how the parties were meant to mask the emptiness of the era, is actually authentic to Fitzgerald’s message but, while hollowness on the page can often be haunting, on screen, it is often just hollow.

Best of Black Sheep: STORIES WE TELL

2013-05-12T13:16:00.001-04:00

STORIES WE TELL

Written and Directed by Sarah Polley

Michael Polley: When you’re in the middle of a story, it isn’t a story at all. It’s a confusion.

It isn’t often that I feel the need to give a spoiler warning before discussing a documentary, but I feel there is no real way to discuss Sarah Polley’s latest (and dare I say, greatest) film, STORIES WE TELL, without giving away the story itself. Polley decides to turn the camera inward, or as close to inward as is physically possible when you’re still the one directing the film from behind the camera. In doing so, not only does she somehow avoid veering into the hyper-egotistical terrain the subject matter could very easily provide, but she also creates a beautiful film that explores perspective and how it shapes all of our lives. This is the work of a very brave filmmaker.

Polley is very guarded with her information at the onset of STORIES WE TELL, and when you find out why, it only stands to reason. It isn’t quite clear what she’s trying to show us at first but, little by little, and rather organically I might add, the film’s structure takes shape. Polley is interviewing her siblings, or rather interrogating, as she puts it, and filming her father, Michael Polley, as he reads a story he wrote that involves his daughter. It is the story of Polley’s youth, of her parents’ relationship, and of their difficulties. More specifically though, and this is the spoiler part, it becomes clear at one point that this is the story of how Sarah was conceived out of wedlock.

By having everyone directly and indirectly involved in the film, including her actual birth father, whom I will let the film reveal to you in its own time, Polley is able to piece together a story from so many different sources. As if to acknowledge that she knows that there is no true way to get the real details of this story (as her mother died when Polley was 11), she cuts away to archival family footage of the period her mother would have had her affair, only to later reveal that this footage is staged with actors playing the parts of her parents. Add to this the inevitable filtering Polley has over the overall telling of this story as she sits in the editing room, and you have a crafty and discerning exploration of the art of storytelling itself .The true beauty of STORIES WE TELL though isn’t the scandal or even the insight; no, what resonates most is to see the Polley family still together after surviving what was certainly a difficult story for all of them.

AT ANY PRICE

2013-05-12T13:12:00.000-04:00

AT ANY PRICE
Written and Directed by Ramin Bahrani
Starring Dennis Quaid, Zac Efron and Kim Dickens

Irene Whipple: Why can’t you be happy with what’s right in front of you?

The world of genetically engineered seeds is about as intriguing a world as you would expect it to be. It’s aging farmers covertly cleaning seeds so that they can be reused; it’s men in suits following men in overalls, making sure they aren’t reselling seeds that are not supposed to be resold. It’s interesting from a historical perspective to see how the American farming industry has changed over the years from the backbone of the country to a corporate controlled and publicly traded commodity. To watch this on film though, is as exciting as say, watching corn grow. Fortunately for AT ANY PRICE, the latest film from independent filmmaker, Ramin Bahrani (GOODBYE SOLO), the farmer tending these particular fields is Dennis Quaid. His turn here as the modern farmer makes these doldrums at the very least watchable.

Henry Whipple (Quaid) does not share the same problems his father did when he was running the farm. He remembers being a kid and living on a family run farm where cows were milked and chickens laid eggs to sell at market. Now it’s his turn to run the fourth generation farm and he can barely keep it all together. His relationship with his wife (Kim Dickens) is strained, to say the least. This might be because he is seeing a former flame (Heather Graham) on the side. One of his sons (Patrick Stevens) has already left their Iowa home to climb mountains, while the other (Zac Efron), is his only remaining hope to inherit the farm. Of course, he has no interest in doing so as he would rather race cars instead. Then there is the nasty business with the seed tampering of course. The manner in which Quaid balances all of this is quite impressive really. There is a smile on his face at all times but you can see his entire life falling apart in his eyes and hear it in his voice. It is certainly one of Quaid’s finest performances, just not one of the best films to showcase it.

The rest of the AT ANY PRICE ensemble does a formidable job, including Efron, who continues to push himself, and expand his audience, with more marginal fare. This is Quaid’s game to lose though and, while years of working his own fields have led to strong performances like this one, it is almost all AT ANY PRICE has going for it by the time the cows come home.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK +

2013-05-04T11:07:00.002-04:00

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Written and Directed by David O. Russell
Starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro

Pat Solitano: She is my friend with an F.
Danny: Capital F.
Pat Solitano: Yeah, for friend.

The one thing I took away from David O. Russell’s SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is that you have to deal with the bad in order to get to the good stuff. Always focusing on the silver lining never gives you the opportunity to face your demons and allows them the chance to grow while you’re looking the other way. Russell makes an apt point here as applying this theory to watching this film is really the only way to enjoy it.

There is one other thing I learned while watching this film, that Bradley Cooper has the potential to take on stronger, more dramatic parts. Cooper plays Pat Solitano, whom we meet moments before he exits a mental facility, where he is being treated for bipolar disorder, convincing himself aloud that he’s better now. It is never really clear to either of his fantastically fussy parents, played by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver, whether he truly is any better but they take him in regardless. Meanwhile, it never needs to be made clear to Pat’s new friend, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), because she is often just as messed up as he is. Together they learn to heal each other ... through amateur dance?

Considering how visceral Russell went last time out with his Oscar-nominated work on THE FIGHTER, I am genuinely surprised by how tame SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is. A fantastic ensemble elevates Russell’s screenplay, with moments both touching and amusing, but never to the point where it breaks free of its more conventional trappings. But when you weigh the film’s faults against it’s own silver linings, its still worth the experience.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK BLU-RAY REVIEW

It is time for me to admit that when I first saw SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, I let my expectations get in the way of my enjoyment of the film. I've now had the chance to see it twice more since that initial screening, once again in theatres and once in my living room, and I think I might finally be getting what everyone else is. When the film won the prestigious People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, I was genuinely surprised. Months later though, the only shock I have left is at my own initial disbelief that it had won. Yes, it is a crowd pleaser, but it is also a very real and relatable story that is not often told on screen. The more I see it, the more I cannot help but fall in love with it and want to see it again and again. You can almost ignore everything I wrote about it initially (all the bad stuff, that is). SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is simply one of the best and one of the most endearing romantic comedies of all time.

I always enjoyed the charm this film exudes, which is of course thanks to its fantastic ensemble cast. As previously mentioned, this is the first time I've seen Bradley Cooper show signs of depth and growth. It is also the first time I've seen Robert De Niro truly bring his best in nearly 20 years. While I initially dismissed Jacki Weaver's performance as too minute to matter, I now see that she is the glue that holds this family together and how close she is to coming completely apart. And of course, there is Jennifer Lawrence. Of the film's 8 Oscar nominations, hers for Best Actress, is the only award the film won. Given the competition, it was the only award it had a decent shot of taking, but if it was going to win anything, I'm glad to see it was this one. Lawrence has repeatedly said in interviews that she never felt like she was playing someone with mental issues, but rather a woman who just lived her life honestly and more openly direct than other people. By not reducing her to a set of quirks and bouts of depression, she was able to craft an incredibly fierce and brave female lead, a rarity if there ever was on in this genre.

What I said then ... "A fantastic ensemble elevates Russell’s screenplay, with moments both touching and amusing, but never to the point where it breaks free of its more conventional trappings."

And now? Well, clearly I was wrong. I've admitted as much already. Yes, it follows a conventional path, but it does so in such an unconventional way without ever sacrificing its romantic comedy roots or its characters' intentions. In fact, it honours convention while subverting it in the most subtle of fashions. Watch Pat and Tiffany's interactions again and you will see that every scene they have together furthers their relationship and bond without either one of them fully realizing it.

Cooper and Lawrence with director, Russell

Special Features: The Blu-Ray features are fairly standard fare but while we're going behind the scenes, we are privy to how much love there seemed to be involved in making SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK. My initial disappointment with the picture was rooted in my expectations of writer/director, David O. Russell. This is his follow-up to THE FIGHTER, and I wanted it to be more raw but now I know the reality he drew from to form this world. His own son has been dealing with mental issues and mood swings for years now. Russell wanted to make this film to show his son, and people who find themselves in similar situations, that there is in fact a possibility of a silver lining, even for those who feel that their issues may keep them from ever feeling a connection with another person.

You can also learn Pat and Tiffany's entire dance routine, as taught to you by choreographer, Mandy Moore. How awesome is that?!

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is available to rent or own now. Review copy provided by eOne Entertainment.

And now for something I rarely do, I am revising the film's grade to ...

And don't miss my oh so brief push for the film on CJAD 800 ...

THE ICEMAN

2013-05-03T08:52:00.000-04:00

THE ICEMAN
Written by Ariel Vroman and Morgan Land
Directed by Ariel Vroman
Starring Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta and Winona Ryder

Roy Demeo: You want to complain about life? You’re talking to the wrong fucking guy.

I’ve met Michael Shannon before. He is a friendly fellow but he is just as menacing to meet as one would expect from his ominous presence on screen. And while I wonder when the day might come when we might see Shannon in a comedy or as a romantic lead, for now we can all admire his ferocity in the many tough guy parts that get thrown his way. The latest is Ariel Vroman’s THE ICEMAN, a biopic of one of the most notorious contract killers in American history, Richard Kuklinski. See if you can guess who plays the lead.

Kuklinski is said to have murdered between 100 and 250 people between the years of 1948 and 1986. Somehow, amidst all that murderous mayhem, Kuklinski found the time to marry and have two daughters as well. Vroman’s film covers this entire period, from the moment he goes out on his first date with the future mother of his children (Winona Ryder is a surprisingly impressive turn), through his time as an independent murderer for hire, to his inevitable capture and conviction. Shannon bounces back and forth between family man and maniacal murderer with an eerie ease that eludes to only one of the reasons Kuklinski earned his Iceman moniker. The other is that he froze his victims for months before disposing of the bodies so that no time of death could be accurately determined.

In many ways, and I mean this with all due respect, Shannon was born to play this part. He is as callous and as icy as he would have to be to pull this off. His powerhouse performance helps THE ICEMAN reach terrifying heights it most certainly would not have, if it weren’t for Shannon’s presence. The lean script rolls through the decades of killing as though they meant nothing to anyone and subsequently, the film is just as frigid as the subject matter. And as disturbing as all this coldness is, a little bit of warmth would have given the character insight necessary to take this film from disconcerting to downright harrowing.

THE ICEMAN is now playing in limited US theatres. It comes to select Canadian cities on May 17.

HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN

2013-05-02T17:39:00.000-04:00

HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN
Written by Jerry Stahl and Barbara Turner
Directed by Philip Kaufman
Starring Nicole Kidman, Clive Owen and David Straithairn

We first meet Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn in the HBO movie, HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN, when they first meet. It’s a bar, it’s the middle of the day, and Hemingway, as embodied by Clive Owen, is a bit drunk on both life and spirits, as he has just caught a giant marlin. Gellhorn, as personified by Nicole Kidman, struts up to him and captures his attention, as well as the attention of every other man in the room with her walk. Before too long, they are each singing a tune, a Spanish song that he knows all the words to. Much to his amazement, she too knows all the words. For a moment, it would appear that one of the greatest American authors of all time may have finally met his match, and for a moment, it would seem like we are about to embark on an incredible journey led by two powerhouse performances. As it turns out though, this moment was nothing more than a fleeting one.

The chemistry between Hemingway and Gellhorn, as well as Owen and Kidman, was instantaneous. Though he was married at the time, to his second wife, he and Gellhorn embarked on a passionate affair while they were each working on a documentary about the Spanish Civil War (THE SPANISH EARTH, directed by Joris Ivens). Gellhorn was a war correspondent for Collier’s magazine so her work often took her to remote war torn parts of the world. On occasion, he would follow and Hemingway, being the man’s man that he is, doesn’t like to follow anyone anywhere, let alone a woman, even one he’s in love with and that he eventually married. This is what screenwriters, Jerry Stahl and Barbara Turner, reduce their relationship to on screen. Basically, Hemingway cannot handle a woman who knows all the words to the same song he does. He finds her beauty, her brains and her bravery to be incredibly attractive but prefers his women docile and obedient. Each actor finds ways to flesh out these very real personalities past these simple constructs, but they are limited by the material and it can be quite frustrating to see them restrained.

As trite as the writing is, which is insult enough to a film about great writers, it is Philip Kaufman’s sometimes laughable direction of the film that ultimately undermines it. Owen, Kidman and the rest of the cast, that includes David Strathairn, Tony Shalhoub and Parker Posey, are often digitally inserted into stock footage from each of the war periods. The effects are glaringly bad at times and the actors often look so lost that it just comes off as hokey, when it was clearly meant to be somewhat innovative. The approach is nothing but a gimmick, and one that doesn’t work very well at that. When Owen and Kidman are finally given a moment to be alone and away from the war, we are privy to some intensely intimate exchanges between two great talents. These bursts of genuineness are too few though and at a two and a half hour runtime, they are not enough to make this worth sitting through.

Review copy provided by HBO Canada.

IRON MAN 3

2013-04-29T08:28:00.000-04:00

IRON MAN 3
Written by Drew Pearce and Shane Black
Directed by Shane Black
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle and Ben Kingsley

And so Phase Two of Marvel’s Avengers begins with the release of IRON MAN 3. No pressure, of course, for the hotly anticipated return of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, arguably the most popular Avenger in the bunch. It’s been three years since Iron Man’s last solo outing but really only one since audience’s got a significant dose of him, and although Downey Jr. could play this part in his sleep if he wanted to, he doesn’t, which might easily explain why I personally have not yet had my fill of him. Still, while I had great fun at THE AVENGERS, I still remember how little fun there was to be had in IRON MAN 2. Tony Stark is a complicated human being and, if allowed to veer too far toward the morose, he can be a bit much to be around. Fortunately, his former depression has now given way for some mildly crippling anxiety, which somehow has allowed the IRON MAN series to come back from overly cynical to just jovially sarcastic. And just like that, Iron Man is fun again!

The root of Tony Stark’s sleepless nights and tortured nightmares is the increasing sense of helplessness he feels to properly protect what he loves. Ever since he came face to face with dozens of alien soldiers in New York city last year, he’s realized that there are threats that are bigger than even he ever thought possible. Sure he and his Avenger buddies vanquished those guys back to whatever galaxy they came from, but what else is waiting out there for just the right time to attack the planet and, more importantly, will anyone be able to stop them next time? To establish some semblance of control in his life, he decides to take on an enemy he can understand, a terrorist known to the world as The Mandarin (played by Ben Kingsley, with more range and commitment than I’ve seen from him in a decade). With Stark not at his best, The Mandarin is able to set him so far back upon his path that he must practically start from scratch. Finding himself stranded in middle America with no armor to protect him, Stark learns what it means to put one foot in front of the other and come back from extinction. It’s sort of like IRON MAN unplugged almost. Sometimes you have to strip away all the distraction to get back to the soul of the song.

There is a great deal of fresh blood pumping through the IRON MAN veins in this third installment, which could account for its revitalized tone. Shane Black, who came to fame for writing LETHAL WEAPON and essentially rewriting the action genre as we know it, takes over from Jon Favreau, who directed the first two IRON MAN entries (and appears again on screen as Happy Hogan, Stark’s unnecessary bodyguard). Black got into the directing game with KISS KISS BANG BANG in 2005, a film that helped Downey Jr. himself get his troubled career back on track. And even though he hasn’t directed a single thing since, let alone anything anywhere near as large as IRON MAN 3, Black manages to push our hero to great depths of despair without piling on heaps of self pity at the same time. The threats against Iron Man are stacked so high, that he has to dig deeper than he ever has before, to be the most super of super heroes he can possibly be in order to survive them. What then in turn endears him further to us, is that the strength he finds doesn’t come from the iron this time around, but rather from digging deeper within the man himself.

Black Sheep does TV: VEEP Season 1

2013-04-28T10:59:00.001-04:00

Julie Louis-Dreyfus has tried a couple of times post "Seinfeld" to find a television vehicle that would properly capture her brilliantly sharp comedic savvy. Attempts to fit her into played out network sitcom scenarios, where she plays sympathetic characters surrounded by silliness, were blatantly obvious miscasts. They felt like nothing more than forced, desperate plays to capitalize on her notoriety. Safe sitcoms are not where this girl belongs. It would appear though that she may have finally found her niche on the HBO cable series, VEEP, where she plays the Vice-President of the United States as a reluctantly useless figurehead. Apparently, it is a lot easier to love Louis-Dreyfus when you are loving to hate her.

VEEP was created by the incredibly witty, Arnando Iannucci, who previously skewered American politics with his 2011 satire, IN THE LOOP. It is unfortunately nowhere near as biting or hysterical as that is but the momentum the show develops as it finds its footing and voice gives me great hope for its prospects. All we are told about how Selina Meyer (Louis-Dreyfus) found her way to her VP post is in the very brief opening credit sequence. She was on something of a meteoric rise during the presidential primaries and could have even taken the presidency. Then something happened, something we don't know about, and she began to publicly melt down. And so she was tossed the VP position as something of a consolation prize. Resilience is this character's forte though so she resolves to make her vice-presidency matter. She takes on filibuster reform and clean jobs and quickly realizes that her job is more for show than anything else. She wants to matter, to make change and leave something of a legacy, but her intentions are always so intensely selfish that you would think it would be incredibly difficult to muster any sympathy for her. All the same, Louis-Dreyfus gets it out of us, which is the crux of her genius. Selina Meyer, like Elaine Benes before her, is not that great a person on paper but yet somehow, you still want her to be happy.

Selina's team is a bunch of bumblers but the actors playing them are spot on. From Anna Chlumsky (an IN THE LOOP transplant) as an aid who can hardly keep up with Selina's constant foibles, to Tony Hale, taking his ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT obsessive worship to the next level as Selina's personal assistant and gopher. VEEP finds its focus about five episodes into the first season, in an episode named "Nicknames", in which she learns that her staff has to Google search a plethora of pseudonyms, like Veep Throat or Viagra Prohibitor, in order to stay on top of what the press is saying about her. That being said, there are only eight episodes in the entire season so finding your way half way through may be a bit late for some. Still, this first term has me intrigued to see what comes from the second.

VEEP Season 1 is available on DVD and Blu-ray now. Review copy provided by HBO Canada.

BEST OF BLACK SHEEP: THE BLACK SHEEP INTERVIEW - DEEPA MEHTA (MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN)

2013-04-27T09:29:00.001-04:00

MEHTA’S CHILD
An interview with MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN director, Deepa Mehta

I will admit that I was reasonably nervous to meet one of Canada’s most celebrated film directors, Deepa Mehta, but I know now that I needn’t have been. The moment she walked in the room to discuss her latest epic, MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN, all of my hesitation fell away. It wasn’t her stature that put me at ease, even though she is a tiny wisp of a woman, but rather something much deeper than that. There is just something about her spirit that makes you feel welcome. Before long, we would be discussing the merits of THE AVENGERS vs THE MASTER and debating when it is acceptable to cast Robert Pattinson in anything. This was one cool lady.

A healthy spirit, and a belief in that kind of thing, is a useful tool when tackling a work as spiritually engrossing as MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN. The 1981 novel written by Salman Rushdie, long before he became the controversial figure we know him as today, juxtaposes the birth of a child with the birth of India’s independence in 1947. The book, which not only won the Booker Prize in the year of its release but the Best of the Booker Prize on both the 25th and 40th anniversary of the award, has been called unfilmable. That would not deter Mehta in the least from making it but she has no idea how it will be received.

“It might be really well received; it might be really trashed. It might become controversial; it might not. There is no formula to predict how any of this will do,” Mehta explains of her thoughts on the finished product. She then goes into a story about her father that endeared her even more to me.

Mehta, at the Canadian premiere of MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN in Toronto.

“My father was a film distributor in India so I grew up with movies,” she begins candidly. “He said, ‘Remember this always. There are two things in life you will never know about. One, is when you’re going to die. And the other is how a film is going to do.’” We pause for a brief but necessary chuckle at this revelation. Then Mehta concludes, “There is no formula to predict how any of this will do. My dad is right. In a way, you can’t totally give up your expectations. I haven’t been able to give them up 100% but its more realistic to leave it to the powers that be.”

Mehta had wanted to work with Rushdie for some time but MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN was not her first choice to tackle. To hear her tell how it came to be though, it seems almost fated. “I don’t know know what made me ask him, ‘Who has the rights to Midnight’s Children?’ I’ve always loved the book; I read it many years ago. It wasn’t a well thought out question. It was purely organic, purely instinctive.”

She may not have known quite what she was getting herself into at first but Mehta is very happy that it came to be in this particular fashion. “I’m glad I hadn’t thought it out because if it was premeditated, I might have been too scared. It is an epic; it is 60 years of post-colonial history. It is the parallel of a coming of age of a young man and the coming of age of a country. Sometimes it’s good to just jump off the deep end.”

MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN stars, Satya Bhabba and Shriya Saran

Regardless of how far Mehta far would have to jump, there was no way she was going to miss out on the opportunity to work with Rushdie, a man she had admired for years. “It was one of the finest experiences of my life, a very interesting collaboration,” Mehta describes, in what is the closest I can see this composed woman getting to gushing. “Salman, as we all know, has a great mind. He is pretty brilliant. But also, he has a great sense of humour and he is very honest. So if something is not working, you can just explain to him why you think something isn’t working. There is no matter of ego.”

Mehta insisted that Rushdie write the screenplay, something he had never done before. And so he was tasked with pairing down an 800-page opus to a 130-page script.

“The reason I wanted him to do it and he agreed to do it is because only he could be the one who could be disrespectful to his work. It is an iconic novel; it’s the Booker of the Bookers! So, when there are aspects of the story that aren’t working in the movie, only he has the absolute authority to chuck them away.”

Mehta on set with young Saleem, Darsheel Safari

Rushdie’s final script focuses on Saleem Sinai (played as an adult by Satya Bhabba, whom most people would recognize from SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD), as he struggles to find his place in not only his family, but his country as well. With so much history to overwhelm the viewer, Mehta knew that Saleem’s character was the key to the success of MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN all along. “I really wanted to focus on the life of Saleem, who is a whimsical character. We balanced what was happening to him with what was happening to India at the same time. The emotional journey is not the emotional journey of a country, but it’s the emotional journey of a person. We feel emotional about what happens to a human being, not necessarily what happens to a country.”

Not that concentrating her efforts on Saleem was necessarily any easier than painting more broadly. “Once I focused on Saleem and stayed with him, the rest became easy. In fact, it was the particular Saleem, as opposed to the universal, which was much more difficult. I mean, the big scenes are a cinch. You have a lot of extras but you get good assistant directors for that. Yes, it’s overwhelming but it’s those intimate scenes that are tough. Those are challenging and they are very, very satisfying. That’s where performance comes in and you know there is truth.”

Mehta and Rushdie celebrating the film's success

MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN is Mehta’s ninth feature film and her most ambitious project by far. The film is now playing in Canada, the country she calls home after moving here in 1973. In fact, the film also has Indian distribution secured, with a release expected later in the year. We already know that she is leaving the film’s reception to fate but before we conclude our time together, Mehta reminisces one last time at how she had to prepare for this enormous undertaking.

“Somebody asked me once how I prepared for this film and I said I joined a gym. I just looked at the script and said I had better get my act together. I got a trainer and everything. You really need that stamina to survive that kind of thing, getting up in the morning and you know you’re going to work a 14-hour day. It’s not just your wits but it’s how long can you stand on your feet.”

Apparently this lady is not only cool but hysterical too.

MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN is now playing in select cities across the USA and is available to rent or own in Canada.

THE BIG WEDDING

2013-04-26T08:03:00.000-04:00

THE BIG WEDDING
Written and Directed by Justin Zackham
Starring Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams

Don: There’s an old saying about how marriage is just like a phone call in the middle of the night. First comes the ring and then you wake up.

A wedding is meant to be a celebration of love and commitment between two people made in front of their closest friends and relatives. Unfortunately for those two people, bringing together all of these supposedly supportive friends and relatives, and then throwing that beautiful love in their faces, also brings out all sorts of crazy that has been simmering beneath the surface for some time, just waiting for the perfect occasion to boil over. The bigger the wedding, the bigger the potential for disaster, and, depending on where you’re sitting, the greater the opportunity for hilarity. THE BIG WEDDING, an oversized, glossy ensemble remake of the French film, MON FRERE SE MARIE (My Brother Is Getting Married), attempts to recreate both of these possibilities cinematically. While it does have disaster aplenty to speak of, no matter where you sit, it is a serious stretch to find any moments of even mild amusement, let alone actual hilarity.

From the moment THE BIG WEDDING opens on a peaceful, calm lake at dawn, you know that this serenity is about to be rattled beyond any recognition and all you can do is wait for it to come. When your cast is led by multiple Oscar winners, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams, not to mention fresher faces like Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace and Ben Barnes, you might expect that the inevitable hijinks could prove to be well worth your attendance but sadly, you would be sorely mistaken. Much like a wedding is supposed to be about the couple but is more about the appeasement of the guests, a comedy is supposed to be funny, but THE BIG WEDDING plays everything so broadly that none of its guests are likely to enjoy themselves. For future reference for all filmmakers, the following plot devices are not actually funny: People thinking they’re having one conversation when they’re really having another because neither party speaks the same language, maniacal / alcoholic priests that say things you would never expect a priest to say, rich country club racism that everyone just swallows, people pretending to be married when they’re not to avoid angering Jesus, and 30-year-old virgins. You’ve got to give that last point another ten years before it gets anywhere near funny.

You know there’s a problem with a film when it has such an impressive cast and yet somehow Katherine Heigl manages to give the most emotionally engaging performance of the bunch. The problem is simple; THE BIG WEDDING is just a big paycheck movie for all involved. I can very easily forgive big action stars when they take on a franchise film just to pad their already overstuffed bank accounts, but when the talent is as reputed as this cast is, and the material is as lackluster as this is, respect is lost. You have enough money already; you shouldn’t need to subject fans of your work to this kind of perfectly catered torture. In the end, THE BIG WEDDING, was just like so many other large weddings I have been to before. I never really wanted to attend to begin with but felt like I had no other choice given the sheer size of it. And then, once there, I was constantly searching for an inconspicuous moment to sneak out and be done with the whole tedious affair. The good news for you all is that you’re not actually obliged to attend this event out of fear your family will shun you for staying home.

THE IMPOSSIBLE +

2013-04-24T10:01:00.000-04:00

THE IMPOSSIBLE

Written by Sergio G. Sanchez

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona

Starring Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts and Tom Holland

On December 26, 2004, a series of horrifically destructive tsunamis struck many land masses touched by the Indian Ocean. Over 230,000 people were estimated to have died and nearly 1.7 million people were displaced during the events. THE IMPOSSIBLE, the first film from director, Juan Antonio Bayona, since his breakout, THE ORPHANAGE, and incidentally also his first in English, tells just one of those stories and, in doing so, provides one of the most emotional experiences I’ve had at the movies in quite some time.

Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts play Henry and Maria, father and mother to three young boys, all under the age of 12, on vacation in Thailand for the Christmas holiday. Dad is in the pool with the two youngest when the torrential tide starts to come in, while Mom is a few feet away with a book, and their eldest, a few feet further away getting a ball. Up until this point, Bayona has allowed us to spend a few moments with the family, to get to know them, even if just a little, so there is actually some connection to them that binds them to us when they are fighting for their lives. Then, he simply lets the natural horror unfold and before long we are immersed in devastation and desperation, and led towards salvation by two strong performances by McGregor and Watts.

THE IMPOSSIBLE is quite an apt title for this film. Not only is the experience this family endures an impossible one to survive, but making this film is in itself an incredible feat that should not have been possible either. With the Indonesian Tsunami not quite 8 year behind us now, this disaster movie could have literally been a disaster if it got anywhere near exploiting the events for the sole purpose of titillating the audience and manipulating our emotions. Bayona flirts with this fine line on occasion but for the most part, he creates an honest space that just allows this powerful story to be told and resonate with the sheer nature of its authenticity.

THE IMPOSSIBLE - BLU-RAY REVIEW

I can understand why people stayed away from THE IMPOSSIBLE in theatres. Watching a natural disaster unfold on film is not the way everyone likes to spend their cinema dollars. I actually saw it twice in theatres but I'm a masochist that way. All the same, if you haven't already seen this film, you are seriously missing out. Yes, it takes you to difficult and scary places but the rewards from going there are so great that it makes the arduous journey well worth any tears you shed. And shed them you will. In fact, just in watching the special features on the Blu-ray, I almost shed a few more myself.

THE IMPOSSIBLE received some criticism when it was released suggesting that telling this one particular family's story in fact takes away from the overall devastation that impacted hundreds of thousands of people. They were just on vacation after all so what of all the people who actually lived in the areas that were destroyed? Weren't their stories infinitely worse and don't their stories also deserve to be told? I never felt that choosing to concentrate on one family's plight pulled focus away from the grander disaster. In fact, I felt that the filmmakers often tried to show that they were not alone in their horror and that the local inhabitants were actually incredibly generous in their efforts to assist those who needed it. The fact remains that this was not the story of the tsunami; this was the story of this family and their story deserved to be told as much as any other.

What I said then? "Bayona simply lets the natural horror unfold and before long we are immersed in devastation and desperation, and led towards salvation by two strong performances by McGregor and Watts."

And now? Well, now, I don't disagree with that statement in the least. Watts went on to earn a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her gruelling portrayal and McGregor received some of the best praise he ever has. I do want to single out one other standout performance though that I think would have gotten much more notice during awards season if it weren't such a busy season to begin with. Tom Holland, who was 13 years old when he was cast in the film, has to carry a great deal of the story once Watt's character becomes immobile. He emotes so much controlled fear while he's trying to remain strong for his mother and completely disappears into the intensity of his circumstances. I predict big things for this promising, young man.

SPECIAL FEATURES: There are a couple of very brief but reasonably revealing featurettes included on THE IMPOSSIBLE Blu-ray. The first discusses casting the film, or the family in the film anyway. This amounts to not much more than actors patting each other on the back for being amazing when it could have addressed the decision to cast white, English actors when the original family this film is based upon is in fact Spanish. The second gives a very precise look at how the tsunami itself was recreated for the film when the budget did not allow for an all CGI experience. There are also some deleted scenes but the best feature of all is certainly the director commentary track. Bayona is very proud of this film, and rightfully so, and he shares that pride with the film's writer and producer as well. Also included in the commentary is Maria Belon, the woman whom Watts portrays in the film and who underwent this awful ordeal to begin with.

I truly hope that THE IMPOSSIBLE finds a wider audience in people's homes. It is a truly great portrait of a truly brave family.

THE IMPOSSIBLE is available to rent or own on DVD and Blu-ray now. Review copy provided by eOne Entertainment.