The Link/Burning Water



The writing has been non stop for me, here's my thoughts on Burning Water, which comes out in limited release all across Canada but will likely not get one for the States. A shame considering there is a relevant subject matter here that touches more than just Canadian provinces. It's a slight, not very stylish documentary but its importance is immense and will likely change government stances on such issues. Review can be read if you click HERE.

Incendies/Villenuve



Incendies (NR) ★★★½

With his fourth film, Denis Villeneuve has hit a new career high. Incendies -based on Wajdi Mouawad's stage play- is the firecracker I've been waiting for this fall. Political, angry and thoroughly engrossing, Villeneuve's film is one of the year's best. It's then no surprise that it is Canada's official selection for the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2011. Don't be surprised if Incendies -brimming at a gripping 130 minutes- is one of the selected five nominees. Sony Pictures Classic has picked up the film for an early 2011 release & has put its hopes on a film that has garnered nothing but buzz since its current bows at the Telluride and Toronto film fest- where it won Best Canadian Film.

The film's central story takes place both in present day Montreal & in a Middle East filled with corruption and violence. Brother and Sister lose mother and then consequently find out that they have a father they thought was dead and a brother they never thought existed. Through flashbacks the story of their mother's ordeal is told and through current day events, the sister finds out things she never knew about her mother, a past filled with pain and sorrow. The torching and shooting of a Muslim filled bus by christian radicals is the centerpiece of this tough movie. It's a sequence breathlessly shot and horrifying to watch in its authenticity. Villeneuve means to shake us and he does.

Villeneuve proved with last year's Polytechnique that he hadn't lost the touch that gave him his reputation with Maelstrom more than 10 years ago. Here, his style is more low key as he pulls a kind of Aronofksy with this picture. This is his Wrestler. A film that has a more low key style that isn't substantiated for plot and is inspired by classical Hollywood cinema. The film had me hanging by every tread as it drew closer and closer to its conclusion. Villeneuve tries to manipulate time by going back and forth from past to present day to show us the similarities between mother and daughter in their quest to find a sibling.

The performances are extraordinary, starting with the mother played by Lubna Azabal- she brings a quiet intensity to her ordeal as a christian good girl gone rebel bad- in a shocking scene, she sets out to shoot a top political figure by working with him and teaching his son how to speak and write french. When the time to kill finally arrives, you feel every inch of nervousness she has at that moment. Notable kudos must also be given to Melissa Desormaux Poulin, who plays the daughter that tries to retrace her mother's every step and consequently finds out deep, impenetrable secrets her mother once had. This is a movie all about images and moments and Villeneuve invigorates his movie with everlasting images that will stay in your head.

The way Villeneuve tells his story is original and visionary, something missing in current day cinema. His middle eastern nightmare vision is a film that creeps up on you from its first frame to its last. I was also completely taken back by its final twisty revelation that only puts the icing on the cake. The film will more than likely find a comfort zone from both critics and audiences when it finally gets released in the States. Villeneuve hasn't really gotten the reputation he deserves south of the border and I think this film might just finally do it for him- it's a hell of a triumph an I couldn't be more proud it comes from Montreal.

The other Facebook movie



Catfish (R) ★★★

If a film like Catfish was able to give me the creeps then I guess anybody can make a movie with their hand held camera and hope for the best- didn't The Blair Witch Project prove that? Then again, the filmmakers of this finely tuned documentary hit a kind of gold mine with their story of a buddy -Lev Schulman- adding a "friend" on Facebook and forming an unlikely online bond with the entire family, including a hot stepdaughter that he ends up having online hookups with.

This being the Internet, I suppose there is always a downside to a story such as this one and boy is it ever a downside as our boy Lev finds out as the story goes along.The first 2/3 of the movie have a Hitchockian vibe that literally had me hanging on every word, then of course...well I won't spoil it for you but suffice to say that they try to put a moral to their story at its conclusion, that the film ends up falling apart and dragging its ass down to the final credits. Too bad cause I kinda dug the buildup that director Ariel Schulman -Lev's brother- brought to the surroundings.

You can call this the other Facebook movie -along with The Social Network- and because we live in a Facebook dominated society, the relevance brought in is justifiably suited for our needs and wants of the moment. Will it be this gripping 10 years from now? I really don't know but for the time being, at its best Catfish gives the viewer a real treat in trying to figure out its mysterious ways.

However, don't think of it as high art or resonant stuff- on the contrary, it's a movie that doesn't have much of a face and rather focuses on its highly interesting concept. Unlike quite a few people out there in the blogosphere, I do believe this was pure fact and the filmmakers didn't make up any bit of it but if only they did- its conclusion would have been slightly more interesting to watch unravel.

Guess The Movie?


This should be quite easy to figure out but I nevertheless wanted to relay this image out of a classic film from the 70s. Recently released for auction with a starting bid of close to 700 dollars. It's a hell of an image but I personally wouldn't dig out the dough and just resort to watching the film instead.

Lisbeth Salander kicks the Hornet's Nest and puts herself in a heep of trouble



Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (R) ★★½

Coming out later this month is the final chapter of this trilogy that has basically swept up the entire world with its intriguing novels by Stieg Larsson and interesting films. If the first film, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, was an investigative drama and the second film, Girl Who Played With Fire, was a thriller, Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest is pure and simply a courtroom drama filled with spectacle and numerous speeches that basically tie up the knots left vacant by the first two films. Is is a good film? no doubt about it, We care so much about the characters because of the first two films that we cannot help but keep our attention throughout all the hokey courtroom drama that at times appears on screen.

The best of the series is without a doubt The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which -despite being 15 minutes too long- had the atmosphere and direction of a first rate picture and brought some much needed cinematic fervor to the surroundings. Hornet's Nest is a conventional way of ending the series, with its multiple speeches, climactic ambivalence and knot tying. I didn't however appreciate how the book's ending was somewhat changed in the film's final conclusion and resorted to a kind of weird inessential goodbye. In the novel, there is a final scene that is kind of expected -very anticlimactic- but also very satisfying and very appropriate for a series of novels about two main characters.

Which is not to say that there isn't an inch of excitement in director Daniel Alfredson's movie. From a hospital shooting to a final battle with a muscled giant, Lisbeth Salander's exciting persona rings true in every scene. Kudos must go to Noomi Rapace, who deserves a nomination for her portrayal of the femme fatale. I found her captivating throughout the series and -although I'm very much looking forward to it- almost irreplaceable in the American remake of the first film, coming out in 2011 and directed by maverick American filmmaker David Fincher. She's the heart and soul of the series and is the key reason to even watch the last two films directed by Alfredson. If you want something more effective check out the first film of the series, directed by Niels Arden Oplev.

"Dance, Girl, Dance"/Feminist Cinema Pt 1



Director Dorothy Arzner’s Dance, Girl, Dance is a feminist narrative, about women in a male-dominated society, made in male-dominated film industry. It encompasses ideas and a language that was well ahead of its time & although the film is conventional, one cannot help but notice the importance this movie has had on an audience that was ignorant to the rights a woman should have. In fact, I took Maureen O’Hara’s Burlesque-hall speech to a packed audience of hollering men as a brave indictment and condemnation of a male dominated society that hadn’t totally advanced in Woman’s rights issues. Arzner’s camera focuses on the faces in the crowd, astonished by the display of courage Ohara’s Judy O’Brien puts forth with her case. It’s a stunning scene that stands up in a film that I admired more than liked.

Arzner is not only condemning the actions of the people on screen but also that of the audience watching her film. I truly believe that to make a film such as this one in 1940 must have taken a lot of backing from producers, then again the message is subtle and never entirely drawn out. Arzner doesn’t mean to give a lesson and just lets her characters do the talking for a change. I loved the way the film’s conventional narrative took on ballsy, important issues of the era. Lucille Ball’s Bubbles/Tiger Lilly gets fame and fortune by playing the whore, whereas Ohara’s good girl Judy struggles to find a place in a world dominated by men and those that want their women in scantily clad clothes & acting dumb on stage. The latter-day acclaim this film has won in its advanced feminist angles is reminiscent of Douglas Sirk’s 1950’s melodramas, with their dark messages hidden underneath glossy colors and characters that are more than meets the eye.

However, hidden messages notwithstanding, Arzner’s film is conventionally made and not entirely essential. The problem I have is that Arzner’s films—at least those I’ve seen—simply aren’t anything to get excited about. There’s always something interesting to catch or glimpse at, but stylistically, she has never been someone to brag home about. Dance, Girl, Dance started out strong but quickly became routine as it went along in its “girl tries to make it big in the city” conventions. I appreciated what she was trying to convey and the walls she was trying to break in her feminist themes but one comes out of the film thinking more about the layed out groundwork & themes than the actual story. As a piece of Hollywood history, it’s a real beauty but as a source of entertainment I’ve seen much better.

Emma Stone's awesomeness




If only the academy would think a bit more outside the box, then maybe Emma Stone's inspiring and sensational performance in Easy A would get the recognition it deserves and score her a nomination. You and I know this ain't happening and thus you will have no choice but to just listen to my opinion when I say she is a joy to watch in Will Gluck's comedy, partly inspired by the Scarlett Letter. The film itself might be slight and conventional but Stone, with her wide bug green eyes and red tinged hair, shines brightly and catches your attention in every scene. She is a revelation and Easy A is her breakout hit. Stone, just a mere 22 years of age, plays a naive high school student that decides to lie her way through her final years by pretending to be someone she clearly isn't. The premise is first grade Hollywood 101 but Stone brings real sophistication and heartfelt hilarity to the mediocre screenplay at hand. Only somewhat known for her role as Wichita in Zombieland, Stone is ready to break on through to the other side.

Affleck, The Town & Missteps



The Town (R) ★★½ or ★★★

Ben Affleck stars and directs In The Town, a film about cold blooded bank robbers in the corrupt, dangerous town of Charlestown, Massachusetts. If anybody saw Affleck's first stab at directing - Gone Baby Gone- they saw a raw, gritty style that was lacking in Affleck's more recent work as an actor. There was a rebellious style that you didn't find in -say- Gigli. Not to confirm that The Town is a total success. It's a hit and miss movie that has moments of true brilliance and moments of sheer cliche. The action is hit, the drama is miss. Given the fact that it takes time for a director to adjust and mature, I'm giving Affleck the benefit of the doubt with this one.

The good stuff? I liked the way the action was set up, especially the climactic heist which takes place in Boston's legendary Fenway Park. People are not kidding when they sing the praises of this close to 20 minute, tension filled finale. It's the peak of the film and -quite possibly- the best heist sequence I've seen since Heat's climactic finale close to 15 years ago. In that film director Michael Mann mixed character with drama to build up a real classic in the genre- a film that defined a generation of action directors and dared to have Pacino and Deniro go head to head in a film that had as much excitement with its mind games as it had through its violence.

Another high point of the film comes in the form of a car chase scene that takes place in the tightly constructed streets of Charlestown. It's an adrenaline rush that had me admiring Affleck's technically savvy talents for shooting action. Special mention also goes to the bank robbery that opens the film and opens the book on its main characters' judgments and choices throughout the picture. Affleck strives to pull off his own Heat & the influence is all over his picture. Too bad he doesn't pull it off. The flow Mann pursued perfectly in his film is missing here and Affleck seems to be straining to find a narrative style for the film's more dramatic points

Don't get me wrong, I dug the film but Affleck shouldn't have cast himself in the lead role and should have stayed behind the camera this time around. His acting puts a real strain on the story and leaves a coldness to his character and an emotional detachment to the audience. However, casting Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner and John Hamm (Mad Men) shows a great flair for casting and the production values are just top notch but there's something very calculative and cold with it all. I feel like Affleck still has much to grow upon & needs to find better narrative structures to his stories. For the time being, he's on track for better things & seems to be gaining more confidence with his game, he directs The Town in a classical approach reminiscent of late career Eastwood.

An Image 16/09/10



The lasting final image to Antonioni's surreal metaphysical L'eclisse, which features one of the most enigmatic endings in cinematic history. A kind of pseudo trip to the beyond and the closest Antonioni has come to representing Science Fiction in his work- even though in essence this a simple love story about cocky boy meets vulnerable gal. The last few moments of the film delve upon existence and a selected branch of images that evoke a kind of spooky, dreary mood that concludes with a lunar eclipse. What does it all mean? I'm not quite sure and Antonioni might be a bit full of himself but it's all hypnotic & just sheer fun to figure out.

MacGruber kicks ass



MacGruber (R) ★★★

I guess you can take this with a grain of salt but I thoroughly enjoyed MacGruber's zaniness and oft kilter comedy so much that I can't recommend it highly enough. When it first came out I shrugged it off as another half assed comedy and ended up not watching it. It was Glenn Kenny's review over @ Some Came Running and then Bill Ryan's over @ his The Kind Of Face You Hate that made me decide to give it a shot. I'm not quite sure why this movie is funny, maybe its the fact that I truly believe its films writers were very stoned when writing the screenplay or just that the film's main character struck me as being highly retarded, in a politically incorrect kind of of way of course. Is there something wrong with me liking such an inordinate film? I guess not, considering I laughed harder @ this movie than any other in 2010.

I don't usually cuddle up to movies such as this one, especially one that is based off a Saturday Night Live skit, but MacGruber won me over with its cheap special effects, trippy writing and overtly retarded atmosphere. Yes, there I am using again the word retarded but it really just is. The plot in this film is as thin as air and the character development as cold as ice. I'm sure you remember my Piranha review which ran here around 2 weeks ago. This is not the same type of movie. In Piranha the sheer horrible aesthetics and stylish shortcomings made it a wonder to behold and incidentally funny. In MacGruber they actually want you to laugh and you do, very hard. The film is consumed with a mental retardation- there I said it again- that it takes pride in garnering. There isn't much else to say and Im sure this won't be for all tastes, but give it a shot.

TEN BEST MOVIES of 2010 (so far)



Flawed or not, these are the ones that left the best impression on me so far in this lackluster year. The academy started nominating 10 last year and these would be my ten if the year was already over. There will likey be some changes in the next few months but I just thought I'd throw these out- since some of these are already out on DVD. There's still 4 months left to the year, so this isn't even close to final. In alphabetical order & not from first to last.

Cyrus
Fish Tank
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
The Ghost Writer
The Kids Are Alright
Inception
Un Prophete
Shutter Island
Toy Story 3
Winter's Bone

Runners Up;
Salt/Restrepo/Girl Who Played With Fire/MacGruber/Farewell/Piranha 3d/How To Train Your Dragon/Kick-Ass

Cronenberg Blogathon- A History of brilliance



(This review is being published as a contribution to Tony Dayoub's David Cronenberg Blog-A-Thon happening over @ Cinemaviewfinder.com)

 One thing that has always made David Cronenberg a unique voice in cinema was that fact that this guy didn't give two shits what you thought of his films. He made personal, visionary movies that were so out of the ordinary that they made the experience of watching them incredibly hypnotic. I actually shouldn't be talking in the past tense, since our man is still making incredibly entertaining, artful films to this very day (History Of Violence, Eastern Promises). In essence, Cronenberg has put his imprint on cinema in ways no other director has before. His stylish & vibrant images are pure Cronenberg and instantly recognizable when looked at for the very first time. Who else can make a movie as ugly but brilliant as The Fly, strange but fascinating as Dead Ringers or erotic & violent as A History Of Violence.

 In A History Of Violence -my favourite Cronenberg along with The Fly- he took what should have been another familiar Hollywood story and turned it upside down with his sinister use of eroticism, graphic violence & an ambiguous ending that had mainstream audiences scratching their heads in disapproval. As if he gave a fuck. The Stall family could have been very dull in the hands of another director but the freshness our friend David brought in was unique and completely original. Viggo Mortensen's Tom, a man with violence in his DNA, had to cope with the fact that not only was he violent in nature but so was his entire family & -as Cronenberg boldly states- so was the audience watching the film. It was a movie that had me looking at the mirror and learning things about myself that I couldn't imagine or fathom.

 In a way everybody is Tom Stall, a violent rage lingers inside us waiting to come out at the most opportune of times- but we never dare to show it. We have a history of violence that cannot be ignored. Tom's wife -a sexy Maria Bello- likes her sex violent, rough & similar to rape, his son shoots a stalker with his own dad's rifle & his brother Richie -all hail William Hurt- is a highly respected thug that wants to kill his own brother. Talk about family dysfunction. The film's final scene is pure cliche, after much drama, the Stall family sits down at the dinner table completely drained out from the events that have just happened the last few days, after a few seconds of silence the screen goes black & a scene that had nothing going for it, has everything going for it. Cronenberg stuns his audience with an unconventional ending that he knows might infuriate.

 Cronenberg sets up his movie like a classic Hollywood thriller. The style is modern, the scenery glowing with high colors & the pace almost frenetically generic. Yet with all these stereotypical styles colliding at once, he invigorates his film with a sense of originality & a bold statement with his use of graphic, strange sex and violence that shakes you up and twists you sideways. I can think of Todd Haynes doing the same kind of stylish statement in Far From Heaven, where he pampered up his decor in 1950's bubble gum melodrama but put risky modern era topics such as homosexuality and racism at the table. Just like Haynes' picture, behind the glitter and glossy colors of A History Of Violence lies a dark room filled with risky thematic substance & a real sense of dread.

 Cronenberg means to shock us and he does. This highly addictive film is also his most hypnotic in terms of sheer grip. He's made rawer, dirtier stuff in his career but none of them have come together as a whole or as close to perfection as this one. If there is one movie that might just define his career 15, 20 years from now it's a A History Of Violence. It has the hallmarks of a classic in the making and has only been gathering more and more fans since its release close to 5 years ago. I remember watching it for the first time in an almost empty theatre on a cold, snowy day in Montreal. I had seen disappointment after disappointment that year & I had not much to write about in terms of worthy films- in fact I was even thinking of just letting go of the passion that has consumed me for years and move on to better things. At the movie's end as the Dinner table scene ended & the credits rolled, I had a smile on my face. Here was a great movie that made you believe in cinema again and had everything that brought you there in the first place. There's no better feeling than that.

Megan Fox would be the perfect modern day silent movie star


Thinkin of somethin there honey?

Yea that's right you heard it here first. Didn't you ever feel like just telling Megan Fox to shut up and look beautiful? That's what she does in the new Eminem video & admirably well to tell you the truth. She acts but without uttering a single word & with a fervor that reminds you of some of the great Silent movie stars. If we were still in the golden age of Silent cinema (1920's-1930's) Megan Fox would be one of the most respected actresses on the silver screen. I'm not trying to insult the classic silent vixens that stamped their marks on le Septieme Art's history but hell, if Megan Fox -with her hypnotic eyes, luscious lips & curvy form- had no lines to recite and was told to overact every gesture and just look pretty, she'd already have an Academy Award in her bedroom.


I want Gooooooold
Remember Zasu Pitts? Star of Stronheim's Greed? She was pretty but the greedier she got with her lottery money, the more her eyes started having lines under them & the more unattractive she was becoming. It's a virtuoso performance that Fox could easily pull off with her dead on beauty and devilishly dark hair. the 360 change at the film's mid point could get pulled off by Megan, who was drop dead hot in Jennifer's Body. Ya dig? Or maybe you just don't agree & think I'm pulling your finger here with this whole thread, well I'm not. Fox is not a very talented actress but so were some of those we herald as great from the silent era. They were also beautiful and we did not have to hear a single word from them to understand the emotional angst they were getting at.


Mack and Keaton hush hushing

How about Marion Mack in Buster Keaton's The General. She didn't have to do much- then again in any Buster Keaton movie, you don't do much and step aside for -well- Buster Keaton. You see where I'm getting @ here? Megan Fox would pull it off also. Listen, I'm not trying to put down Keaton's Silent classic -it's one of my favourite pictures ever- but the times are different and acting has changed quite drastically since Keaton & Chaplin first stepped foot. The General is pure and simply Keaton's show. Some of the stuff he pulls off in the movie is practically impossible for stunt doubles to pull off til this very day. I'm astonished at how close he was to his death doing those stunts, but leaving the scene unharmed with no scratch to show was almost a miraculous thing.


Cry my darling, cry

Then there's Janet Gaynor's heartbreaking performance in Sunrise. From the first scene to the last, she had me at hello. It's one of the seminal female performances of the silent era and one that I feel Megan Fox can quite possibly pull off because it IS wordless. Would it be better than Gaynor's performance? No freaking way. Gaynor was born to play the role of the wife, who's husband is cheating on her and gets tempted by his mistress to drown her. It's not a mistake that Sunrise appears on many 'Greatest Movies' lists on a yearly basis. It has the biggest heart out of any Silent movie I've ever seen. Its swooning music is touching enough to make even the most manly of men weep. Now were getting into the more artful and delicate territory in the silent film era.


I can't see you but I can see you

How about having our friend Megan as one of Chaplin's muses? Chaplin always casted knockout bombshells to be his co stars. I can think of the blind flower girl in City Lights- Virginia Cherrill- or Paullette Goddard's Gamin in the great Modern Times. All great work by great women but something that requires beauty and over exaggeration, a specialty of Fox, who's work in Transformers & Jonah Hex was ruined by her uttering a word or line. No words are required here. Chaplin knew that emotion could be understood through gesture and through a single stare of the eyes. If he were still alive, he would want only the most attractive actress to convey all these incredible emotions beside him. He was completely enthralled -at times a bit too much- by women his entire life, to the point of womanization and abuse.


Miraculously alive. Falconetti in Passion Of Joan Of Arc.
Just don't try to think for a second Fox can replicate Maria Falconetti work of art performance in 1928's The Passion Of Joan Of Arc. There's enough visual reasoning to believe that Falconetti's performance was touched by something completely mythical and unexplainable. It's a cinematic high that not even our friend Megan can half duplicate. Falconetti went on through stringent and harrowing conditions to portray Joan Of Arc and make a mesmerizing portrayal out of it. Better luck next time Megan, but even your looks aren't cut out for this kind of serious business.

An Image / Rouge (Kieslowski)

A film which spells out its themes in darkly lit red cinematography. Krysztof Kieslowski's romantic and very much auteuristic Red (Rouge) is a cinematic wet dream filled with images that take your breath away and a story that ends up being both touching and mesmerizing. Irene Jacob is the focus and the below images show the power and strength of the best film in Kieslowski's Trois Couleurs triolgy. It's almost impossible to share feelings about a movie such as this one because there is something very mystical and wordless about it. It is a meditation on fate, chance and parallel lives. A movie that has frustrated some and breathlessly dazzled others. The attention to detail is delicate and bravely done. There is a shade of red in almost every frame, enhancing Jacob's beauty and imprinting a melancholic theme to the overall film. I fell for her the first time I encountered Red, her beauty spoke of truthfulness and a sexual honesty that could not be shaken.


Title card...


Looking...


Thinking...


Stretching...


Posing...


Concerned...


Blowing...


Praying...

Casey Affleck goes noir & psychopatic in Michael Winterbottom's 'Killer Inside Me'


The controversy arising from this film is not without merit. The Killer Inside Me, finely directed by Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People, A Mighty Heart) has graphic scenes of violence against women, all done and justified by its main character Lou Ford- brilliantly played by Casey Affleck. Based on a popular 1952 Jim Thompson novel, the film is a dark nightmare through a psychopathic mind. Stanley Kubrick once said the novel was 'probably the most chilling and believable first person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered', which is a lot coming from a legendary director known for his grizzly and dark pictures. The high lit scenes only reinforce the darkness that hides behind the light & make the picture all the more cruel and torturous.

There are two particular scenes that everybody is talking about. One involves Lou hitting a woman's face -Jessica Alba- so hard and so strong that he ends up drilling a hole in her cheek. Another involves punching his pregnant wife in the stomach, so hard that the water ends up breaking and the wife -played by Kate Hudson- falters to her death in the kitchen room floor. Because the story is told in a sympathetic way towards its main character, there is a kind of easiness that unfolds in the film's linear structure. Lou is a man that believes that everything he has done is justifiable and compulsively right.
The film is at times slow and dull but its overall power gives it a small, menacing grip as it reaches its violent finale. Casy Affleck -a more talented actor than brother Ben- gives one of the year's best performances and only raises his reputation as one of the most underrated and gifted actors around at the moment. I can name hundreds of more enjoyable and satisfying movies but I cannot name as many that have this much of a punch in the gut effect. If the film falls short of the books ambitions, its interest lies in the darkened room its main character likes to lock himself in. Affleck is scary good in this one and he does the source material proud. Too bad the problems in plotting and editing prevent it from going even higher and stronger.

Danny Boyle In Images

With the release of Danny Boyle's latest film -127 Hours- just a mere months away, here's a career retrospective via images and films that have defined his career. Boyle is no doubt a visual stylist & at his best -Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire- has a way to move us with the images he creates. At his worst -A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach- he still dares us to leap into his imaginative worlds where nothing is safe and everything appears to be deceiving. Is he overpraised? I say he's not. He just makes the best out of -very often- poorly written screenplays that should never take off but do because of his talent. Then again he -semi- fucked up The Beach, which was a great book but an underwhelming movie. Looking back at all these pictures again, I'm reminded of how much of a love/hate relationship I have with the guy. Boyle doesn't always tend to underline his films with much substance and instead resorts to building up visually amazing images that kind of try to hide the weakness of a plot or a screenplay. That happened with Slumdog Millionaire -and he succeeded quite well might I add.



This is slight Boyle and not at all mandatory viewing. As it is with all of his film Millions is visually stunning but has a kiddie storyline that never really takes off. Altough its leading boy is just a real charmer and I guess I kind of see what he was trying to do with this one. A failure in my books but not without its core group of fans.



Some would say A Life Less Ordinary is his worst film. I'm inclined to agree and disagree, considering there were a few things I liked about that said picture and that it was not as dreadful or bland as something like say Sunshine? which -don't get me wrong- has its fans but did not have me at hello. + this one has Cameron Diaz when she was actually still curvy and hot.


As close to a great zombie movie as we have had in the past 2 decades. 28 Days Later felt almost like a rebirth for Boyle after striking out with his last two efforts (A Life Less Ordinary & The Beach). It put Cillian murphy on the map and gave a kind of new twist to the Zombie genre- Boyle made zombies quicker and more alive than ever. My only complaint? a piss poor ending that gave in to Hollywood conventions and resorted to violence and bombs. Followed by a mediocre sequel, not directed by Boyle.



His best movie, bar none. Trainspotting is a relentless and unafraid assault in its frank depiction of low rent junkies. Yet I'm afraid that a film this rebellious and this gritty is never going to appear again in Boyle's CV. Then again I shouldn't complain, few filmmakers can actually claim to have a movie this good in their filmography. I just wish Boyle would resort to getting a great screenplay like this one and hit it out of the park like only he can. These days he's given in to the studios and produced some solid effort but there's nothing better than going low budget and using much more creative freedom.



Now if only he didn't fuck up the film above. Maybe he'd be getting some extra points & a bit of a better reputation. Then again, everybody has their own dud. Scorsese's New York, New York?



First things first. I was breathlessly entertained by Slumdog Millionaire, so much so that it ended up on my ten best list in 2008 (#5). However, one that loves this movie must also confess to giving in to its multiple plot holes and -at times- unrealistically Hollywood approach, which all culminates with a kind of fairy tale Bollywood style finale with vibrant song and dance. I dug it, but this isn't necessarily a film you should take too seriously.



You can check out the trailer for 127 Hours right HERE. It's a real doozy, even though they kind of push the whole Slumdog Millionaire image for quite a bit of time at its beginning, which is understandable considering there arent necesarilly any big names to market this film around and -NO- James Franco is not considered a big name, well maybe to the gay community.

The Expendables, The Other Guys & Piranha 3D give new meaning to the word bad, but one is actually good

We've come a long way this summer, with nothing but disappointment after disappointment. There was a barrage of terrible sequels (Iron Man 2, Shrek 4 & Predators), not needed remakes (Robin Hood, A- Team & Karate Kid) & unfunny comedies (Grown Ups & Get Him To The Greek) that paved the way for what might just be the worst summer movie season I've ever experienced. Hell, the best (along with Inception) & most entertaining movie to come out of the Hollywood studio system was an animated film about toys (Toy Story 3). And what to make of Inception? with its multi layered plotting and complex storytelling, Nolan's film is flawed, low on character development & frustratingly complicated yet no movie aimed higher or had more creative guts.

You had to go through the Independent film circuit to truly find diamonds in the ruff. I'm thinking of Debra Granik's Winter's Bone & Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are Alright with Annette Benning & Julliane Moore stamping their names on top of the Best Actress Oscar race. With no more than 2 weeks left before the Fall Movie Season rolls out, a few films are coming out to top the horrible taste others have left in our mouths. The dogs are not gone and still rolling out to take hard earned money out of your pockets. One is a comedy, one is an action flick & the other is -err- a horror movie. All three fail -what a surprise- but one is so bad it ends up being good.


The Expendables (R) ★

Unlike others, I had some hopes this would turn out to be gritty entertainment. How naive and ambitious of me to think in such ways. The Expendables deserves its place on the long and unstoppable list of the worst Hollywood movies of the year. Let's start with the script which has every 1980s action flick cliche imaginable. The dialogue is so wooden that I wouldn't be surprised if a 5 year old action junkie helped out Sly Stallone in the creative process. It would have been much better if the film didn't take itself -and its plot involving mercenaries trying to kick ass in some Latin American country- so seriously and relied cheesy aesthetics (read Piranha 3d below). There is no shortage of actors. Jet Li, Sly Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren & Mickey Rourke. All are stranded in thin air by sloppy direction (by Stallone) & poor plotting. There are also useless cameos by Arnold Schwarznegger & Bruce Willis, who take their roles way too seriously & have around 2 minutes of screen time each.

Let us now forget about how The Expendables is expendable crass entertainment & focus on the real reason we were even here in the first place. We knew there would be no plot but we had expectations the action would live up the billed stars names & churn out something awesome. How far wrong were we? way off the mark. The action is well filmed and watchable but there's something missing in it, the same way there was something missing in a lot of this year's summer blockbusters; A beating heart & something worth fighting for. The Expendables seems to have none of that and instead resorts to the same old, same old + add a sequel begging ending and you got the perfect example of how a cash cow with no artistic integrity can come about. Nice try Sly but no Cigar. Next please.


The Other Guys (PG-13) ★½

Will Ferrell has already been talked about in this blog, so I'll be short and sweet talkin about his latest comic endeavour. It's a letdown. Sure there are some jokes that hit the target but we have the right to expect more from this supposed king of comedy. Here he teams up with Mark Whalberg, they play police partners trying to solve greedy scammers of Wall Street . Just like the Expendables, the plot is almost non existent (What's the deal Hollywood?) & the real attraction is its stars. Ferrell -coming off last year's stinker Land Of The Lost- tries his damn near best to entertain us and at times it succeeds but there's a sense of deja vu and been there done that lingers all around The Other Guys. At his best (Old School & Wedding Crashers) Ferrell pushes the envelope and rubs his laughs with rebellious darts but at his worst (Land Of The Lost & Semi Pro) he tends to try and hide a screenplay failure with a sense of rehashed jokes. The Other Guys falls in the middle of these two categories and does not nothing to advance an already successful career.


Piranha 3D (R) ★★★

This movie stinks so bad it's good. The absurdity and irrelevance it brings to the table is astounding & the acting is nothing short of terrible. Yet, I was entertained by its stupidity. How could I not be? Piranhas reeking havoc on the most annoying of college students, killing them in such creative and absurd ways, I sat there shocked with my jaw dropped wide open. Piranhas 3D has the chance of becoming a B-movie classic in the very same way The Rocky Horror Picture Show has evolved over the last 30 years. I'm quite shocked this movie only got an R rating, considering what happens during its 90 minute running time. There's full frontal nudity, lesbian action, creative fish eating kills, Blood everywhere, horribly bad acting, a dismembered penis, vaginas, tits, bad CGI special effects & a death count that can rival any gangster film times 100.

This isn't a film with suspense, it's a film with gross outs that takes pride in its cheap, gory thrills. Plot, acting and dialogue are replaced by horrific but goofy visuals that cannot help but shock the most primitive of viewers. Director Alejandre Aja has always relied on shock to make a point -he did These Hills Have Eyes & Haute Tension. This is the perfect vehicle for him, he doesn't have the flair, timing or patience to build his stories around character and instead resorts to graphic violence as a backup. There isn't an inch of smarts in Piranha 3D but what it lacks in brains it compensates with sheer horrid entertainment value. This isn't a film that its producers should be proud of but it is a film its audience can sink their teeth into. It's trash with class.

Quick Note- Scott Pilgrim Vs The World



There is so much going on in every frame of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, that one viewing may not be enough to take everything in. Director Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead/ Hot Fuzz) has made one of the more visually stunning pictures I've seen so far this year. He fills every single frame of the movie with something eye popping or original. His movie is not for everybody and will please a certain crowd, but I couldn't help and enjoy its inventiveness & eye popping visuals. If you grew up with video games of the 80's, you will rejoice in the catchy one liners and visual gags that Wright has created here. If Mr Wright's movie may seem to be lacking emotional context all throughout its running time & feels ever so slight, its final scene embarks on the emotions that come within a relationship. Well worth checking out.