The other night I popped in the quiet, little indie Red Road (2007 US/2006)..
I’m usually transifixed by any half-decent Scottish, Cockney or Irish tale, so obviously, I was pretty easily pulled in by the premise and world of this thing. But then, as soon as I noticed the protagonist was left-handed.. Well, I was sold! I’m always amazed by writers who have such skill to provide enough details to their world while still leaving plenty of blanks to be playfully filled in. I found it to be such a glimpse into a different place and culture to see everybody rockin’ out to Oasis’s What’s the Story Morning Glory at what was supposed to be a hardcore party in the slums.. Silly white people.. (B-)
I’m usually transifixed by any half-decent Scottish, Cockney or Irish tale, so obviously, I was pretty easily pulled in by the premise and world of this thing. But then, as soon as I noticed the protagonist was left-handed.. Well, I was sold! I’m always amazed by writers who have such skill to provide enough details to their world while still leaving plenty of blanks to be playfully filled in. I found it to be such a glimpse into a different place and culture to see everybody rockin’ out to Oasis’s What’s the Story Morning Glory at what was supposed to be a hardcore party in the slums.. Silly white people.. (B-)Make sure you're in the right frame of mind before you take on the rather unreal Our Daily Bread (2007 US/2006).
Now, I use unreal extremely loosely, as this is probably the ultimate example of verite, and therein lies much of the discipline and genius of this thing. There’s definitely a reason why I never got around to taking time out for this provocative and incendiary documentary over the past few years: It’s not pretty! Bypassing the human factor, Nikolaus Geyrhalter's provocative documentary offers an intensely clinical look at the machinery of industrial food production. Geyrhalter focuses his lens on high-tech aspects of agriculture, using a rich mix of film techniques to capture machines in action. Humans, animals and crops appear incidentally, with droning conveyor belts, automated crop dusters and other machinery in starring roles. Translation: You'll probably never want to eat again. (B)
Now, I use unreal extremely loosely, as this is probably the ultimate example of verite, and therein lies much of the discipline and genius of this thing. There’s definitely a reason why I never got around to taking time out for this provocative and incendiary documentary over the past few years: It’s not pretty! Bypassing the human factor, Nikolaus Geyrhalter's provocative documentary offers an intensely clinical look at the machinery of industrial food production. Geyrhalter focuses his lens on high-tech aspects of agriculture, using a rich mix of film techniques to capture machines in action. Humans, animals and crops appear incidentally, with droning conveyor belts, automated crop dusters and other machinery in starring roles. Translation: You'll probably never want to eat again. (B)
A couple weeks ago, I had the chore of taking on Poison Friends (2007 US/2006)..
In this Cannes Film Festival award winner, a group of first-year literature grad students at the Sorbonne quickly succumbs to the charms of André (Thibault Vinçon), a brilliant bad boy one year their senior who seduces everyone in his path. Demanding absolute loyalty, André has both faculty and coeds eating out of his hands -- until he abruptly leaves town one day. Now, the group must find a way to continue without the light at their center. My experience watching this film was probably very similar to how many people feel when confronted with Entourage on HBO. Except I get Entourage. This shit, however, hit like a ton of blah. First of all, how did this thing when at Cannes?!.. Who was this film made for? Post-structualist grad students aren’t that broad of a demographic. Come to think of it, this is the most recent in a string of Parisian based films that just didn’t do it for me. What’s going on in French cinema these days? (C-)
I had mentioned a few postings ago that I had started Hot Fuzz (2007) but had to quit halfway through to get to an engagement..
Well, I finally got back to it and I gotta say.. Maybe it was the lack of tequila imbibed during the second half of this, but I do have to say that this thing starts much stronger than it finishes. I still lurve most of it, but I kinda think it did unravel as it continued to move to the ridiculous rather than the satiric or sublime. (B-)
I remember having only lived in LA for about a month and driving into one of my first jobs in town, listening to Film Friday on NPR. They were doing a review of a new French comedy, The Valet. It is almost unreal to think that is has nearly been 2 years since that moment in time, when I had that thought and that dream that I would have the time and luxury and decadence to afford to sit back and take 2 hours out of my life to enjoy this frothy little romp.
Crazy Euro indie films. They get me everytime. The first thing I noticed, was how bright and sunny this film was. Vibrant. Like a crayola marker. When a photo of billionaire businessman Pierre Levasseur (Daniel Auteuil) and his supermodel mistress, Elena (Alice Taglioni), makes the papers, he gets in dutch with his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas, who is really remarkable in this and by all accounts, speaks French rather flawlessly). To trick her and save his marriage, Pierre tracks down an unassuming valet (Gad Elmaleh) who was inadvertently part of the picture and pays him to feign a romance with Elena. But unintended consequences ensue in this merry comedy. All in all, there was something very throw back about the whole thing, which proved in part endearing and in part bland. Many of the scenes, especially in the
title character’s apartment looked like something out of the old Odd Couple movie but many of the gag’s come off nothing more than Jerry Lewis-esque. (C+)
I was not initially enticed to go see In Bruges when its trailers and promos first came on the scene over a year ago. But after a Golden Globe nom (win? I can't remember and don't feel like google-ing it right now..) and some good word of mouth, the bug finally bit.
First of all, let's talk about Colin Farrell’s delivery of this really magically delicious screenplay. As soon as you hear him deliver the chompy “Kent, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and I was retarded.. Bruges might impress me.. But I didn’t, and I’m not.. So it doesn’t," you realize truly what an absolute delight Colin Farrell can be (which is quite remarkable, considering his playing someone who killed a child in cold blood) and this is coming from someone who wasn’t always on the CF bandwagon… “Somehow, Ken, I feel like the balance will tip in the favor of culture. Like a big, fat, fuckin retarded fuckin black girl on a
seesaw opposite a dwarf.” I couldn’t help but immediately wikipedia-ing Bruges while watching this.. You know, to holistically take in the whole dramaturgical experience of this thing. And the the nominated screenplay really is fantastic. I mean.. C’mon.. They even write in a midget on K into it and take on the unexplicable recent rise of white supremacy fetishism within the homosexual community in the northern countries. It really doesn’t get much better
than that!! “Two monkey hookers and a racist dwarf.. I think I’m heading home..” And then an hour into it, you realize (remember) that Ralph Fiennes is in this, and not just that, but you have a whole hour to go with him and the fun just keeps on going! (B)
So much has happened in my life in the short time since In the Valley of Elah came out.. It floors me to think about it.
Susan Sarandon is such a welcoming sight to any film. Whenever I see her, I know that for at least the next thirty minutes of the film I’ll be transfixed by her. Not to mention, we're offered a pre-Milk James Franco as well as Josh Brolin pre-Milk. What it does achieve is capture the evolving mood in this country during the second term of the Bush administration, which is truthfully one of the most confusing times in American history (meaning, I have no idea what the majority of Americans were thinking in 2004.. Less than any other time I’ve read
about in its entire history.) It captures a people that without second thought, impulsively prepare dinners of boiled spaghetti and bleached wonder bread and wash it all down with a full glass of cow’s milk. Not just that, but through fiction and performance, it completely
validated and justified every choice I have personally made over the past 4 years. On the other hand.. I couldn’t help but think how difficult it must’ve been for flawlessly gorgeous Charlize Theron to put on some of the whore-endous middle American girl-cop wear she had
to don. You know that shit had to be painful for her. The moment when a scarred-beyond-repair soldier in his mid-20’s says to TLJ’s charater, “It’s fucked up, isn’t it?” To which he replies, “Yeah.” Followed by a long minute of silence says more about the last decade
than most commentaries I’ve seen to date. I had forgotten Paul Haggis was the mind behind this. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly the element that was lacking, but now it all makes sense. In spite of all the best efforts of this cast, it is almost impossible to give this
man’s sometimes (Million Dollar Baby withholding) brilliant ideas much soul. (B-)
It feels like I have tried to make it through Stardust a number of times, but something has always prevented me from succeeding.
First off, let it be said that I love, love, love the worlds Neil Gaiman creates and anyone who knows me knows I live for Claire Danes, though I do have to admit, it took a good chunk of the movie for me to fully buy her British dialect. Realizing she hasn’t done much
lately, I went over to IMDB to see what she’s got lined up and turns out she’s in pre-production for a biopic called Temple Grandin, about an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in humane livestock handling. Umm.. This kind of worries me as taking on this kind of project could either make or break her career. :-/ Anyway, part CS Lewis, part Willow, part Princess Bride, part His Dark Materials. The locations and landscapes in this thing are absolutely splendorous and there’s even a unicorn! Last time we got to see Michelle Pfeiffer and Claire share scenes together on screen was back in late 96 in To Gillian on her 37th Birthday. Le sigh.. Those were the days. Anyways, then Robert
deNiro shows up to chomp through the second act and Ricky Gervais steals some scenes along the way and what we’re given is a fantasy film for the canon. Finally however, I was kind of like, “C’mon! Get on with it already.. Love overcomes all and boy gets the girl." But it does close in a very satisfying way, making it all worth it. It should be noted that Michelle Pfeiffer’s final monologue mourning the loss of youth and beauty was probably the most impassioned, believable, grounded and purpose driven performance we’ve seen out of her in at
least a decade. Also, how many of you think Captain Shakespeare ends up with his first mate ;) I do!! And of course, I love one of the final lines of this movie, “No man can live forever. Except he who possesses the heart of a star.” (B)
In this Cannes Film Festival award winner, a group of first-year literature grad students at the Sorbonne quickly succumbs to the charms of André (Thibault Vinçon), a brilliant bad boy one year their senior who seduces everyone in his path. Demanding absolute loyalty, André has both faculty and coeds eating out of his hands -- until he abruptly leaves town one day. Now, the group must find a way to continue without the light at their center. My experience watching this film was probably very similar to how many people feel when confronted with Entourage on HBO. Except I get Entourage. This shit, however, hit like a ton of blah. First of all, how did this thing when at Cannes?!.. Who was this film made for? Post-structualist grad students aren’t that broad of a demographic. Come to think of it, this is the most recent in a string of Parisian based films that just didn’t do it for me. What’s going on in French cinema these days? (C-)I had mentioned a few postings ago that I had started Hot Fuzz (2007) but had to quit halfway through to get to an engagement..
Well, I finally got back to it and I gotta say.. Maybe it was the lack of tequila imbibed during the second half of this, but I do have to say that this thing starts much stronger than it finishes. I still lurve most of it, but I kinda think it did unravel as it continued to move to the ridiculous rather than the satiric or sublime. (B-)I remember having only lived in LA for about a month and driving into one of my first jobs in town, listening to Film Friday on NPR. They were doing a review of a new French comedy, The Valet. It is almost unreal to think that is has nearly been 2 years since that moment in time, when I had that thought and that dream that I would have the time and luxury and decadence to afford to sit back and take 2 hours out of my life to enjoy this frothy little romp.
Crazy Euro indie films. They get me everytime. The first thing I noticed, was how bright and sunny this film was. Vibrant. Like a crayola marker. When a photo of billionaire businessman Pierre Levasseur (Daniel Auteuil) and his supermodel mistress, Elena (Alice Taglioni), makes the papers, he gets in dutch with his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas, who is really remarkable in this and by all accounts, speaks French rather flawlessly). To trick her and save his marriage, Pierre tracks down an unassuming valet (Gad Elmaleh) who was inadvertently part of the picture and pays him to feign a romance with Elena. But unintended consequences ensue in this merry comedy. All in all, there was something very throw back about the whole thing, which proved in part endearing and in part bland. Many of the scenes, especially in thetitle character’s apartment looked like something out of the old Odd Couple movie but many of the gag’s come off nothing more than Jerry Lewis-esque. (C+)
I was not initially enticed to go see In Bruges when its trailers and promos first came on the scene over a year ago. But after a Golden Globe nom (win? I can't remember and don't feel like google-ing it right now..) and some good word of mouth, the bug finally bit.
First of all, let's talk about Colin Farrell’s delivery of this really magically delicious screenplay. As soon as you hear him deliver the chompy “Kent, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and I was retarded.. Bruges might impress me.. But I didn’t, and I’m not.. So it doesn’t," you realize truly what an absolute delight Colin Farrell can be (which is quite remarkable, considering his playing someone who killed a child in cold blood) and this is coming from someone who wasn’t always on the CF bandwagon… “Somehow, Ken, I feel like the balance will tip in the favor of culture. Like a big, fat, fuckin retarded fuckin black girl on aseesaw opposite a dwarf.” I couldn’t help but immediately wikipedia-ing Bruges while watching this.. You know, to holistically take in the whole dramaturgical experience of this thing. And the the nominated screenplay really is fantastic. I mean.. C’mon.. They even write in a midget on K into it and take on the unexplicable recent rise of white supremacy fetishism within the homosexual community in the northern countries. It really doesn’t get much better
than that!! “Two monkey hookers and a racist dwarf.. I think I’m heading home..” And then an hour into it, you realize (remember) that Ralph Fiennes is in this, and not just that, but you have a whole hour to go with him and the fun just keeps on going! (B)
So much has happened in my life in the short time since In the Valley of Elah came out.. It floors me to think about it.
Susan Sarandon is such a welcoming sight to any film. Whenever I see her, I know that for at least the next thirty minutes of the film I’ll be transfixed by her. Not to mention, we're offered a pre-Milk James Franco as well as Josh Brolin pre-Milk. What it does achieve is capture the evolving mood in this country during the second term of the Bush administration, which is truthfully one of the most confusing times in American history (meaning, I have no idea what the majority of Americans were thinking in 2004.. Less than any other time I’ve readabout in its entire history.) It captures a people that without second thought, impulsively prepare dinners of boiled spaghetti and bleached wonder bread and wash it all down with a full glass of cow’s milk. Not just that, but through fiction and performance, it completely
validated and justified every choice I have personally made over the past 4 years. On the other hand.. I couldn’t help but think how difficult it must’ve been for flawlessly gorgeous Charlize Theron to put on some of the whore-endous middle American girl-cop wear she had
to don. You know that shit had to be painful for her. The moment when a scarred-beyond-repair soldier in his mid-20’s says to TLJ’s charater, “It’s fucked up, isn’t it?” To which he replies, “Yeah.” Followed by a long minute of silence says more about the last decade
than most commentaries I’ve seen to date. I had forgotten Paul Haggis was the mind behind this. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly the element that was lacking, but now it all makes sense. In spite of all the best efforts of this cast, it is almost impossible to give this
man’s sometimes (Million Dollar Baby withholding) brilliant ideas much soul. (B-)
It feels like I have tried to make it through Stardust a number of times, but something has always prevented me from succeeding.
First off, let it be said that I love, love, love the worlds Neil Gaiman creates and anyone who knows me knows I live for Claire Danes, though I do have to admit, it took a good chunk of the movie for me to fully buy her British dialect. Realizing she hasn’t done much
lately, I went over to IMDB to see what she’s got lined up and turns out she’s in pre-production for a biopic called Temple Grandin, about an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in humane livestock handling. Umm.. This kind of worries me as taking on this kind of project could either make or break her career. :-/ Anyway, part CS Lewis, part Willow, part Princess Bride, part His Dark Materials. The locations and landscapes in this thing are absolutely splendorous and there’s even a unicorn! Last time we got to see Michelle Pfeiffer and Claire share scenes together on screen was back in late 96 in To Gillian on her 37th Birthday. Le sigh.. Those were the days. Anyways, then Robert
deNiro shows up to chomp through the second act and Ricky Gervais steals some scenes along the way and what we’re given is a fantasy film for the canon. Finally however, I was kind of like, “C’mon! Get on with it already.. Love overcomes all and boy gets the girl." But it does close in a very satisfying way, making it all worth it. It should be noted that Michelle Pfeiffer’s final monologue mourning the loss of youth and beauty was probably the most impassioned, believable, grounded and purpose driven performance we’ve seen out of her in at
least a decade. Also, how many of you think Captain Shakespeare ends up with his first mate ;) I do!! And of course, I love one of the final lines of this movie, “No man can live forever. Except he who possesses the heart of a star.” (B)
We're off to San Francisco today!! Hollaahh!!
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