You can usually count on director Jacques Audiard to deliver the goods and, more times than not, he does. I was rather taken by his last four films, (in order of preference, "A Prophet," "Rust and Bone," “The Beat My Heart Skipped," and "Dheepan") all dealing with the dark corners of male masculinity. That's why his latest, "The Sisters Brothers," a grimy, gunky Western filled with absurdist nihilism, suffers from being so, well, un-Audiard-esque.
Set in 1851, the film deals with brothers and assassins Charlie and Eli Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly play the Cowboys), as it languishes its Northwestern setting, deep through the mountains of Oregon, right into a dangerous brothel in the small town of Mayfield, and ending in the gold rush-set landscape of California. Paralleling their story are Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed's lone drifters, them too set on striking it rich in California.
"A Simple Favor" is an R-rated Bonbon Spiked With Malice
Director Paul Feig is mostly known for his female-centered comedies ("Bridesmaids," "Spy," "Ghostbusters," and "The Heat"). He loves to work with women, in fact, he's never directed a movie without one in the lead. His latest endeavor is titled "A Simple Favor," it stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively -- they both have never been given better roles to chew on quite like these.
The screenplay, adapted by Jessica Sharzer from Darcey's Bell novel, seems to dwell into satirical comedy territory but is also very much a thriller. This mixture of genres doesn't always work out tonally for Feig, but his film never stops entertaining as he tackles a theme that is too good to resist: female friendship.
Read more“Venom" is a time-capsule-worthy bomb [Capsule Review]
I don't really want to go too much into detail about Ruben Fleischer's "Venom" because there are far worthier films that I need to write about today but, suffice to say, it's a total bomb. At some point during yesterday's press/audience screening the crowd was laughing at scenes that, I'm pretty sure of it, the filmmakers didn't intend to portray as comedic. This is a visually dull film, think back on Marvel films circa 2004 ("The Punisher" etc.) ,but more importantly, this is a project that seems to have died in the editing room.
Read moreOrson Welles’ Doc ‘They’ll love Me When I’m Dead’ is an Incalculably Important Cinematic Document
Morgan Neville‘s "They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead," which will play next week at Alice Tully Hall as part of the New York Film festival, is more than just about the making of Orson Welles‘ "The Other Side of the Wind," his final film which will, after being touted for the better part of three decades as the 'greatest film never released,' finally be in theaters later this fall via Netflix.
Neville's narrative in 'Dead' focuses on Welles' final few decades on earth. The documentary is an attempt to dissect Welles' controversial and mysterious personality and to explain the experimental style in which Welles' worked between 1970-1990.
Read more'After Everything (Shotgun)' should have won the top dramatic prize at SXSW
Hannah Marks and Joey Power's "After Everything" was the best film to play in competition at this year's SXSW film festival. It represents a strong debut by the filmmaking duo because it agreeably understands, and never judges, the cash-strapped, NYC-based, millennial couple at the center of its tangled love story. The film is both idealistic and shrewdly cynical; it never necessarily sets for a settled mood because, well, that's now how life works. And yet, for a film dealing with such heavy themes, it manages to be curiously humorful.
Read more'Upgrade' has the potential to be a new sci-fi cult classic [Review]
Leigh Whannell’s "Upgrade" is a B movie – a riff on Paul Verhoeven's "Robocop," filled with high-tech-paranoia and nastily rendered revenge dramatics. In other words, it's just what the doctor ordered. In a movie world filled with film releases that try to scream out "me! me! me! me!" Whannell's film feels like a fresh oasis as it sets out to build up a familiar world but with a new fresh set of eyes and an irresistibly dark atmosphere.
Read moreLee Chang-Dong’s ‘Burning' is the Best Movie of 2018 so Far
My favorite film of the Cannes Film Festival, and of the year so far, has been Lee Chang-Dong's "Burning," which, so it happens, is a damn-near miraculous achievement. I would go as far and say I've never really seen anything quite like it. The cinematic movement happening right now in Korea is quite special.
Bar none, the best movie I saw at the last Cannes Film Festival. There wasn't even debate. Why? Because I don't think I've ever seen a movie quite like the genre-morphing "Burning." Even if it uses many of the enticing tropes of a whodunit drama, it feels incredibly fresh. Some of the filmmaker coming out of South Korea these days are utterly fascinating.
Read more'Roma' is a singular, meditative poem from director Alfonso Cuaron
Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma" was shot on 65mm, it is comprised of a series of richly detailed episodic moments, always lensed in deep-focus, in which we are asked to glance around and look for carefully detailed signs of life, these moments are meant to string the film together and pack a wallop by the very final frame.
Read more‘22 July’ commits a grave sin: it gives voice, attention and notoriety to an evil, right-wing terrorist
I didn't want to review Paul Greengrass’s "22 July" last week, mostly because it portrayed the white nationalist extremist who shot and killed 77 people at a Labor Youth camp in Oslo, as a rational person. Not just that, but Greengrass lays down the terrorist's agenda quite elaborately, having him explain exactly why he committed the insidious act. Briefly, the attacks were carried out to call attention to the wave of to Islamic immigration in Europe and to his view that feminism has created a European “cultural suicide”, whatever that means. The fact that Greengrass's camera has no problem letting the guy explain his extreme right-wing agenda in a measured and somewhat neutral fashion, handheld camera in tow, irked me.
Read more‘A Star is Born’ Starts Off Great But … [TIFF Review]
"A Star is Born" is a remake of a remake of a remake. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I will give some credit to actor-director Bradley Cooper for making something that feels brazenly fresh out of this tired old story, for which the 1953 classic Judy Garland version still stands as king of them all.
Read moreJason Reitman’s timely, invigorating ‘The Front Runner’ is about ‘The Week Media Went Tabloid’ [TIFF]
There were a ton of Oscar Contenders that had their premieres at the Telluride Film Festival and, yet, I feel like this year's Toronto International Film Festival delivered better quality premieres.
Just look at the subdued receptions films like "Boy Erased," "Destroyer," "White Boy Rick," "Trial By Fire," "The White Crown," and even two of the more well-received titles, "Can You Ever Forgive Me" and "First Man" received at TIFF.
Read more'Destroyer' features Nicole Kidman at the peak of her powers [TIFF]
De-glamming has all but becomes a cliche for well-known actors and actresses to nab that ever elusive acting Oscar. We saw it with Charlize Theron in "Monster" and Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball," among many others. Nicole Kidman also donned that infamous nose prosthetic for her 2003 Oscar-winning performance in "The Hours," but now she's back at it again, de-glammed and uglified, in "Destroyer," which is the best work she's done in years, maybe ever.
Read more‘Free Solo’: A Thrilling, Astounding Mountain-Climbing Doc [TIFF]
"If you're seeking perfection, free soloing is as close as you can get." Those are the words spoken earlier on by free solo rock climber Alex Honnold, the subject of directors E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's ("Meru") mind-blowing new doc.
Read moreJeremy Saulnier's 'Hold the Dark': A surreal Alaskan nightmare [TIFF]
If you haven't seen Jeremy Saulnier's films then you're missing out. He's one of the very best up and coming American directors. 2014's "Blue Ruin" is a crime-thriller masterpiece and 2016's "Green Room" was such a dark and nasty neo-Nazi revenge thriller that it felt like an avant-garde horror movie.
Read moreSteve Bannon documentary 'American Dharma' warns of an impending American civil war [TIFF]
"American Dharma" gives Steve Bannon a voice, if you're already turned off by that prospect then documentarist extraordinaire Errol Morris' latest movie is not for you. The rest of us can go into this beguiling film with an open mind and accepting the challenge of an open dialogue with a man that many believe to be responsible for the emergence of the "Alt-Right" movement in this country.
Read moreDirector Jonah Hill relives his 'Mid90s' youth [TIFF]
"Mid90s" has Jonah Hill reliving his youth as writer-director of a skateboard coming of age drama that would fit quite perfectly with this year's other skateboarding flick "Skate Kitchen."
If the latter was a female perspective on adolescence, "Mid90s" is Hill's teenage male version. Focusing on the plight of 13-year-old Stevie (Sunny Suljic), tormented by his older brother (a surprisingly threatening performance by Lucas Hedges), and deciding to take a crack at hanging with the cool kids at a skateboarding store, Hill's debut shows real promise for the craft.
Read moreDamien Chazelle's "First Man" fails to launch [TIFF]
Neil Armstrong's story is adapted to the screen by director Damien Chazelleand talented scribe Josh Singer in "First Man" -- a mechanical, altogether flat attempt to recreate the events that led to Armstrong's historic trip to the moon.
The 33-year-old Chazelle, already known for his excellent work in "Whiplash" and "La La Land," stalls to find the same excitement and intensity of Armstrong's journey in "First Man." Why? Because he is restrained by adapting the story of a person that, quite frankly, was just not that interesting to begin with. Sure, Armstrong was the first man to step foot on the moon and the film's final stretch, delving into that historic voyage to space, is incredibly shot and ultimately very moving -- however, the getting there is rather dull and consists of mostly trial and error efforts from Armstrong and his NASA crew to prepare for the lunar journey.
Read moreMelissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant, both Oscar-worthy in "Can You Ever Forgive Me" [TIFF]
Because everything that seems to debut at Telluride is met with overpraise, the raves that met Marielle Heller's low-key but charming "Can You Ever Forgive Me" really don't do justice to its small little pleasures. In essence, this is a character-driven, and slight, film based on a true story which took place in New York City's literary world some twenty odd years ago.
Melissa McCarthy plays author Lee Israel with the panache and memorable flair we are used to seeing her invest in any role she undertakes-- except, in Heller's hands, McCarthy is given a character that is not only nastily hilarious but also darkened by alcoholism and severe pathological tendencies.
The story goes that Israel, down on money with an ill cat and having to find a way to pay its medical bills, decided to forge letters that she falsely claimed legendary authors, such as Dorothy Parker, had written to fellow cohorts. She found a niche market to sell these letters in the NYC literary world, and made thousands of dollars doing so. Of course, the FBI eventually started sniffing around and suspecting there was wrongdoing.
Along with her showstopper role in "Bridesmaids," this is easily McCarthy's best performance, Oscar will come knocking very soon with a nomination. However, I was even more smitten by her co-star Richard E. Grant, playing Israel's conspicuous drunkard sidekick Jack, he is indeed the scene-stealing reason to watch this predictably delivered rise and fall true-life saga. Every line he delivers stings with deadpan laughs, I actually wished there was more Jack and less Lee in this film.
Heller ("The Diary of A Teenage Girl") again showing a great knack for visually intimate drama, hasn't even come close to reaching her artistic peak yet, but you have a sense that it's coming. The screenplay she co-wrote here, with Nicole Holofcener, does its best to smooth around the rough edges that come with this kind of film. You do know where it's headed, but for 2/3 of its running time "Can You Ever Forgive Me" has no reason to be forgiven. [B-]
'Green Book' is high-level mainstream entertainment [TIFF]
"Green Book" is directed by Peter Farelly who, along with his brother Bobby, is the 'auteur' that gave us such classic artistic statements as "Dumb and Dumber," and "There Something About Mary." Presenting "Green Book" at the world premiere last night, Farelly, unsurprisingly, mentioned, that after 40 years in the industry, this was the first time he got to present one of his movies at a film festival. With "Green Book" he may have just delivered the most successful and rousing screening of any filmmaker this festival.
Read more“Vox Lux" is Brady Corbet's Beautiful, Dark, and Twisted Fantasy of Fame
Brady Corbet's "Vox Lux" is an unusual film. It starts off with one of the tensest high school shootings I've ever seen and ends with an elaborately conceived and hypnotic pop music performance, filled with tacky dancing and a light show. In between all the drama and fireworks is a character study about fame, trauma and the undeniable power of song. Does it all come together? Not really, but it's incredibly fascinating to watch an artist go for broke like Corbet does here.
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