James Dean redux

James Dean's sexuality examined in new film

By Jordan Ruimy

Check out the trailer below.

You can’t blame director Matthew Mishory for wanting to tackle the life of James Dean in his new film titled "Joshua Tree 1951." Dean left a lasting legacy in Hollywood from 1955 to 1956 - that’s just 2 short years in the spotlight. In those 2 years he created his legendary, iconic status with the mind blowing trifecta of "Giant," "Rebel Without A Cause" and "East Of Eden."

Mishory knows that Dean is still a fascinating figure to dissect. The mystery that came with his 1956 death caused by a motorcycle accident only intensified the endless rumors. Especially with great interest regarding Dean’s sexuality. Was he gay? was he bi? was he straight? 

In "Joshua Tree 1951," Mishory knew he had a heavy burden to carry. However, the director also sees the simplest of things that made Dean’s life just like any other. 

“It’s a film about an awkward young man from Indiana who makes his way to Hollywood with a very big dream and tremendous ambition, and he gets eaten alive," says Mishory. "But, ultimately, he also leaves us this incredible legacy.”

There have been films made before about the young star, most of which didn’t succeed in depicting a truly justified portrait of his life. Many of those movies went down Hollywood bio-pic clichés that didn’t render any originality or life to the subject. Mishory wanted to start from scratch and offer something that we hadn’t seen before 

“I think we offer a completely different take on who this man was - a more intimate take and an exploration of a period of his life that had rarely been put to screen before and certainly never in this way.” James Preston plays Dean in the film and does so without “mimicry” or “impersonation,” giving a fully fleshed out portrayal of an actor that has been plasticized for his motorcycle boy good looks and bad boy personality. 

As Mishory says “There is the sort of self-created mythology of James Dean as sensitive rebel bad boy that perhaps exists in at least one of the screen performances but largely was created through publicity photographs and the public imagination.”

In Mishory’s film we see a James Dean grappling with his own sexual orientation. This, in fact, is what will split Dean fans in their views of the film. Mishory doesn’t understand the naysayers, even pointing out that it was “common knowledge” that Dean experimented with numerous male partners. 

“One thing that so fascinates (me) about this era, the late ’40s and early ’50s, especially among the Hollywood elite, is that people lived much more freely, sexually, than they do in our more conservative times. The great difference is that privacy still existed, so they did so behind closed doors. And of course there was an entire studio publicity machine in place to keep certain realities hidden from prying eyes.”  

The film never really mentions the words “gay”, “BI” or “straight” and instead opts to portray Dean’s life through imagery and context - and anyways, who are we to force these three labels on a human being when we all know it can be much more complicated than that. James Dean was, in the end, a complicated figure.

"Savages" and Oliver Stone's mistakes

Oh Oliver Stone, no one can blame him for aiming high. The director of such classics as Platoon and JFK isn't one to do things subtly, his levels of excess in movies such as U Turn, Any Given Sunday and Nixon can be too much. In his latest called Savages you get both the good side of Stone and the bad side. He miscasts Blake Lively in the lead role of O (short for Ophelia) a muse and lover for two big time pot dealers Ben and Chon, played by Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch. The boys' product is incredible, their secret? They get their marijuana seeds from Afghanistan, where Johnson was stationed as a Navy Seal and got a contact. Things get tight and the plot kicks in when the Mexican cartel tries to get their share of the business and the boys reject their offer. In comes Salma Hayek's queenpin Elena, who's love for her neglecting daughter far exceeds the brutal business she handles. Elena doesn't like the rejection from Ben and Chon and decides to kidnap O to make them change their minds. Plot twists ensue that shouldn't be revealed.

Stone, co-writing the screenplay with Don Winslow and Shane Salerno, doesn't skimp on the violence, here in Stone's world the blood is real and so are the stakes. Just like in his underrated U Turn from 1997, Stone pounds our heads with so much that the film can't help but have flaws within it edges. For one, the 131 minute running time is typical of a director who's had practically a dozen 2 hour + movies in his career. the plot structure can also be incoherent at times, abruptly jumping from one scene to the next and skimming through plot points without second notice. Thirdly, there's the ending. Which is a botched -ambitious- attempt at Tarantino-ing up his film. Too bad, because when it does get its juices on Savages becomes a hell of a ride that shows just how talented a storyteller Stone can be. 

At his worst -Natural Born Killers- he will send a movie's message to his audience with a nail hammered to their heads but at his best -Platoon- he will uncover deep, dark truths with the kind of subtlety and grace that has been so unnatural to him in his career. Savages fits right in the middle of that pack. There isn't really much substance to it, unless you look at it as a pro-marijuana legalization film, yet its action is relentless and made by a madman who's made a career on being a madman. This isn't high art, even though Stone might want you to think it is, it's just another vision from an auteur who hasn't yet calmed down and wants to continue to be heard. His new picture will surely rile up some people, there were walkouts at my screening, but that's just part of the fun that comes with having a new Oliver Stone movie.

"The Avengers" (Just a note)

★★½

It's not hard to see why Fanboys everywhere are creaming their pants at the recent summer blockbuster The Avengers. It has almost all -no Spidey- of the popular Marvel comic book heroes and is directed by Serenity and Buffy The Vampire Slayer creator Josh Whedon. Whedon is much loved by fanboys worldwide because of his mucho popular stamp on horror and science fiction. I don't buy it. Never been a big Whedon fan and after having seen The Avengers, I sure am not now. Bash me all you want but The Avengers lacks the realist bite of The Dark Knight and the great action of Spiderman 2. Instead it relies on its impressive list of characters to support a story that is as thin as paper. Now don't get me wrong, there were times during the movie -such as the mid-way half hour action sequence on the plane- where my palms were getting sweaty and I literally was at the edge of my seat but there weren't enough moments like that one to fully sustain my appreciation for the film. People calling this 600 million dollar box office monster anything else but dispensable entertainment are out of their minds, If Whedon's film does not take itself so seriously then why should we? Its 8.6/10 rating on IMDB is also ludicrous and a bit too much for this film fan, who's seen better stuff done with this kind of genre at a much lower budget (Kick Ass? Iron Man? The Incredibles?). Well just look at me, ranting on and on about this much hyped about film yet this is going nowhere, you will likely stumble upon another Avengers fan on the street that will spill his undying love for this empty, recyclable movie. Love can be blind after all. Bring on The Dark Knight Rises.

"The Master" trailer introduced

Now if this isn't your most anticipated movie of 2012 then this blog is just not for you. No true movie buff would dare miss Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master. Following up his intricate 2007 masterpiece There Will Be Blood, Anderson tackles another heavy subject. Religion. Oh boy this is surely going to offend religious zeitgeists but hell I don't care and neither should you. From what we can gather in this trailer, Anderson is taking on Scientology and its creator Ron L Hubbard. The lighting, music, camera shots all look top notch and so does Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Hubbard-like figure and Joaquin Phoenix as the master's protege. Click the link above only if you dare.

As for Anderson, what more can you say. He's proven over the years his worth and talent. which got me thinking about ranking his films in terms of quality. Anderson is right up there with the best American filmmakers working today. I'd put him on top of a list that includes David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Wes Anderson, Joel Coen, Alexander Payne and Christopher Nolan. P.T has only made phenomenal pictures in his career -mixing ambitious ideas with incredibly Altman-esque/Scorsese storytelling- and The Master will look to continue his winning streak.

1) There Will Be Blood
2) Magnolia
3) Boogie Nights
4) Punch-Drunk Love

"Prometheus" and its ambitious reach

In Ridley Scott's ambitious "prequel" -or so its touted- of his 1979 Sci Fi classic Alien, Scott tackles the biggest question of all of humanity; our existence. In Prometheus the year is 2093 and a team of scientists journey through the universe on the spaceship "Prometheus"  to investigate Alien life forms, what they find is a possible answer to whom our creators might be. A question arises as the film's central theme, would we be greeted with hostility and violence if we ever had the chance to meet the creators that made us? It's deep, dark stuff that is handled with real intrigue by Scott and his screenwriters John Spaihts and Damon Lindeloff.  Think of it as The Tree Of Life for the summer blockbuster crowd, although Prometheus doesn't really need to be compared to Terrence Malick's masterpiece. That would only lead you to believe it is a whole other movie than it actually is. It isn't.

Scott stages the actions scenes remarkably well. He's always had a gift for creating character in a sea of action. Think of Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and -more recently- American Gangster. His films have wounded male characters who's lives are filled with violent pasts and presents. In Prometheus, male characters come and go but Scott creates a true action heroine for 2012 in Noomi Rapace. The original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo ignites the film with enough gas to fill a tank. She's dynamite and becomes a true heir to Sigourney Weaver's Ripley in the first two Alien films. The same brilliance can be attributed to Michael Fassbender who plays the deceiving android that accompanies the crew on their journey. The best compliment I can give Fassbender is that I forgot it was the actor just acting and actually did believe his David was a droid. The whole cast is solid and to reveal more plot would be to ruin Prometheus' dark surprises.

There are holes in Prometheus, its 124 minute running time is overdone and Scott doesn't always know when to stop. Yet its claustrophobic atmosphere is palpably intense. A mix of rich visuals and a thinking man's movie. The questions asked in the film don't all get answered and it infuriates just as much as it entertains. However the ambition of Prometheus is what makes it a solid blockbuster in a sea of muck. The ideas spin out of control and Scott's story somewhat gets out of hand but there's something refreshing about watching a summer movie with ideas. A concept that has not existed in any of the popcorn movies released thus far this summer. Come on, as if The Avengers had a deep layer of existential thought in its candy colored brain. Not that there's anything wrong with just wanting to entertain but sometimes a little extra thought would suffice along with the diversion. Prometheus has that, even when it sometimes misses its swing.

"Headhunters" brings the buzz

Headhunters is a Norwegian thriller that will make your head spin faster than a pop of ecstacy in the mouth.  We first meet Roger Brown - a solid Aksel Hennie.  During the day Roger is a top notch go-to headhunter for the rich and during the night a forging high art burglar. You see, Roger is actually close to going bankrupt and he wouldn't even dare say it to his hot, blonde, tall wife Lotte whom he thinks married him just for his millions. The plot thickens as Clas Greve is introduced to us via charm and charisma. Greve is a millionaire himself, having invented the GPS system in holland and basking in the riches of his invention. He owns a piece of high art at his new apartment that could be worth more than 100 million bucks. Brown sees this as an opportunity to commit the perfect heist yet he gets more than he bargains for in the process. I won't spoil anything else for you except to say that Headhunters - directed with sly wit by Morten Tyldum - bites more than it can chew and overloads on subplots near its closing. Its disappointing second half can't match its sexy, hypnotic first half. Nevertheless this is more than solid entertainment if you are capable to suspend your disbelief.

The Dictator

★★ (R)

Sacha Baron Cohen might just be the funniest guy in movies. 2005's Borat was not just funny, it's now a comedy classic. Expectations were high for Cohen's latest incarnation as an oppressive, western hating dictator. However The Dictator has failed at the box office and reviews were lukewarm. What went wrong? You have to look at the  resulting movie which is encompassed by hit and miss jokes. The problem isn't with the newly sketched character Cohen has given us - it's actually quite inspired on paper. The problem lies with the fact that Cohen's first two films -Borat and Bruno- were what I'd call guerilla style documentary filmmaking. A glorious mix of fact and fiction that made us entertainingly cringe under our seats all in the while laughing hysterically at the absurdity that was happening on screen. The Dictator is a result of Cohen delving his satirical teeth into fiction film and striking out. The pacing is average, the screenplay terribly conceived and the style -by director Larry Charles- almost juvenile.

The film's title character is one Haffaz Alladeen (Cohen) - a bizarre dictator of the oil-rich African nation of Wadiya. Alladeen is as egotistical and ruthless as dictators come, executing anyone who disagrees with him by using his signature "head chop" signal. Alladeen is summoned by the UN to address their concerns about his nuclear program. That's when things get complicated and Alladeen's assistant, played by Ben Kingsley, tries to take control of the operations and rid Alladeen of his powers. Anna Faris plays Alladeen's New York City girl and she couldn't have been more miscast. In fact, there really isn't much good to say about a film that tries to be funny but ends up being the opposite. The R rating given to the film usually spells laughs for many comedies in the studio system but here it doesn't get used in an advantageous way. Cohen has proven that he has endless talent and one can go past his brilliant impersonations (Ali G, Bruno, Borat) and right into the supporting roles he's had in films such as Sweeney Todd and Hugo to see just what I'm talking about. He's an actor that deserves our attention, The Dictator is his sour note.

"Django" Unleashed

Now here's something to look forward to ! Quentin Tarantino's new movie and really, any new film by this man warrants attention and should be a movie event for film buffs. I'm mixed on the trailer but I got a feeling there's much more than meets the eye here. His last film was the flawed but uproariously entertaining Jewish wet dream Inglourious Basterds - It won an Oscar for Christoph Waltz, who's back here. Just click on the link above and let me know what you thought.

Sight And Sound List

It's really funny how obsessed I can be with lists, then again I guess that's not so surprising as many movie geeks like myself consistently compile lists just for fun, Iit's just part of the culture. Take for example Roger Ebert who just unveiled the LIST he will submit to Sight and Sound for their prestigious poll of the greatest movies ever made, this poll gets done every 10 years, which means it was last done in 2002. This, of course, got me thinking of my own list of the best films ever made, which oddly enough I never really put much thought into, until of course I took a glance at Roger's list.


The Godfather
The Godfather Part 2
Vertigo
The Searchers
The Tree Of Life
12 Angry Men
Pulp Fiction
2001 A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
Dr Strangelove
Apocalypse Now
Mulholland Drive

Summer Movie Preview 2012

You hear that sound? That's the sound of explosive bombs, superheroes, no character development and little to no substance. Yes, it must be summer and with summer comes loads of big, loud, abrasive movies. It's been like this for a good long time now. The studios release their biggest blockbusters, suited for hormonally raged teenagers that just want escapism. Hey, there's nothing wrong with escapism, I like the occasional movie that wants to do nothing but entertain and numb the sense but there's something very shallow and unmoving about a movie season that takes its pride in doing that. The following 10 movies are the ones to look out for this summer. These 10 movies don't just want you to forget and escape, they have something to say and directors that have a real conscience for feeling and character. As American Beauty once tagged in its promotional campaign, "look closer".

The Dark Knight Rises (July 20th)
Here's the big one. A superhero movie that might go all the way to Oscar glory. With 2008's The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan raised the bar for Superhero movies with a Batman that had deep, humane flaws in his tortured, dark soul. It was one for the ages and The Dark Knight proved to be the biggest blockbuster since Titanic. The anticipated sequel has higher expectations and no Heath Ledger as the Joker. Instead we get Tom Hardy as big, bad Bane and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. If everything goes right and the film is just as good as its predecessor, Oscar might call for multiple nominations including a long overdue Director nod for Nolan.

Moonrise Kingdom (May 25th)
Wes Anderson is not one to abide by formula. His films are unique in tone, bold in look and original in story. Just look at his body of work (The Fantastic Mr.Fox, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited) an extendedly rich catalogue that will grow even further in the years to come. His latest, Moonrise Kingdom, stars Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton and an outstanding supporting cast. Details are hush hush about the plot but what we do know is that it centers around a pair of young lovers that run away from their New England town. Opening the Cannes Film Festival this May, Moonrise Kingdom should be way up in your must-see list.

Dark Shadows (May 11th)
Whenever Tim Burton releases a movie, we pay attention. No matter how disappointing his last few remakes were -Charlie And The Chocolate Factory? Alice In Wonderland?- his latest is nevertheless anticipated. Based on the 1960's Gothic soap opera of the same name, Dark Shadows casts Burton favorite Johnny Depp as a patriarchal vampire that wakes from a century long sleep. Leave it to Burton and Depp to bring dark humor to a film that most definitely needs it in loads. Although Burton is at his best when telling his own original stories (Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd) here's hoping he nails it with this one.

The Dictator (May 16th)
Sacha Baron Cohen might just be the funniest guy in movies. 2005's Borat was not just funny, it's now a comedy classic. Expectations are high for Cohen's latest incarnation as an oppressive, western hating dictator. The trailer's jokes are hit and miss but one cannot discount Cohen's ability to provide humor with scathing satire. Although the movie might look brain dead, it looks to be painting a broad, scary picture of a society that's crumbling before our very eyes. Heavy stuff right? Leave it to Cohen to find the scary in the funny just like he did in Borat and Bruno.

Magic Mike (June 29th)
Does anybody want to watch a movie about the life of a veteran male stripper? I do. Especially when Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) directs. Channing Tatum stars as the stripper and to makes things even more interesting, Tatum started out his pre-Hollywood career as -you guessed it- a male stripper. Matthew McConaughey co-stars as the strip clubs sleazy owner.  It's the sort of personal autobiography that I look forward to in a summer of muck. It could hit all the right notes, especially with Soderbergh at the helm of this one.

Brave (June 22nd)
The folks over at Pixar (Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 1,2,3) rarely hit a false note. Their tales are filled with deftly handled characters, adult oriented themes and storytelling that's just bliss. So it's with great anticipation that we look forward to their latest original tale, Brave. In fact it is the first Pixar film to feature a female heroine, Merida. A redheaded Scotswoman that can throw a fiercer bow than Katniss Everdine ever did. Although Cars 2 was an immense disappointment, I wouldn't count Pixar out just yet.  Judging by the trailer, Brave has the potential to do big things

Prometheus (June 8th)
One of the most anticipated movies of the year, Ridley Scott's Prometheus is a prequel to his sci-fi classic Alien. Not much is known about the movie, and the teaser trailer doesn't help any further in trying to assemble the missing pieces of the puzzle. What we are left with is a scat amount of images involving the cast (Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron) as they suit up for a space mission that looks scarily bleak. In an age where the entire movie is revealed in the trailer, Scott is trying to defy the odds and have you go along with him for a ride that is riddle with questions. Isn't that how movies were supposed to be in the first place? mysterious?

To Rome With Love (June 22nd)
Woody Allen's follow-up to last year's successful Midnight In Paris has another stellar cast at its disposal. This includes Jesse Eisenberg, Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin and Allen himself . Expectations are at their highest for the Woodman's 43rd film, which follows the same formula he used in Midnight In Paris. To Rome With Love is a love letter to a city he has always adored. Will it be another successful artistic achievement or will it fall in the same routine trap as his latter career films (Scoop). No matter, if we've learned one thing about Woody Allen over the years, it's that you never count him out.


The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3rd)
The Bourne Legacy (August 3rd)
Two movie franchise reboots. If there's anything we can learn from Summer 2012 it's that fresh, new ideas are not seen anywhere. In The Amazing Spider-Man Andrew Garfield takes over the Tobey Maguire role and Marc Webb takes over Sam Raimi's directorial duties, yet there's hope. Webb directed the awesome 500 Days Of Summer, Garfield is a talented young actor and the trailer looks like it won't be the same old story. This could be a major surprise. In The Bourne Legacy Matt Damon is replaced by Jeremy Renner yet there is no Jason Bourne in the movie, it's a new agent and a new setting. Tony Gilroy, who directed the great Michael Clayton, takes the helm of the franchise and I'm betting he's going to do a solid job.

Is Television better than Film?

Vanity Fair's James Wolcott had a piece the other month on Television's quality compared to that of the movies these days. Which got me to start thinking about the state of cinema as we speak. Is there anything as good as Breaking Bad out there right now? I don't really think so. Vince Gilligan's series is so breathtaking and intense that I just wish there was a film half as good as it out there. Name me one great American movie you've seen in 2012. Yeah, that's what I thought and we are almost halfway through the year. 21 Jump Street was funny but really just funny and The Hunger Games had a bite that was lacking throughout its running time. Breaking Bad on the other hand is incendiary stuff. It chronicles Chem teacher/turned meth maker Walt White and the nervous breakdown he gets once he learns that he has lung cancer. It's a jumpy, flashy, exuberantly alive series that deservedly won Emmy's for Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. It's precisely what cinema has been missing for the past 5 months.

Want comedy? Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm is as snappy and comic as any movie out there. Having just completed its 9th season in 2011 and about to debut its 10th this August, Curb continues the ironic humor David started with Seinfeld in the 90's. The series hit its peak in an episode called "The Palestinian Chicken" in which Larry has to choose between a sexy Palestinian chicken restaurant owner or his neurotic Jewish friends. Sadly the cinema can't replicate the political incorrectness David does on HBO. It's as if movies are too scared to think outside the box whereas its cousin -Television- is no holds barred and ready to take on anything.This is the Golden Age of television and Hollywood is watching it carefully. Yet one thing Wolcott forgot when writing his article is the fact that the year's best movies still triumph over the year's best TV shows.

Maverick directors such as Terrence Malick, Nicolas Winding Refn, David Fincher and Darren Aronofsky are not on TV, they are in cinema and they are there to stay for now. If ever directors such as these make the leap to Television then maybe we can start  comparing more seriously the artistic merits of both mediums. However, for now it is too early to compare. Yes, Breaking Bad is mesmerizing stuff and the best show on TV but it can't achieve the cinematic nature of a masterpiece such as last year's The Tree Of Life or the year before with Black Swan. Those films took leaps and risks that I have not yet seen on any TV show. Their cinematic languages are as strong as anything on HBO or AMC. It's as simple as that. Although for the time being I'm more hooked on watching HBO's new series Girls - a Judd Apatow created treat that brings you into the lives of 4 new york city girls. The show isn't afraid to show these girls and all their flaws, it's a scathing, penetrating look at a subject that might be too taboo for Hollywood. Go for the ride.

"The Hunger Games"

 ★★ ½ (PG-13)

When Gary Ross decided to tackle Suzanne Collins' ultra popular book Hunger Games' translation onto the screen, I was kind of hopeful. Ross is really no Hollywood hack trying to make a quick buck. His previous 2 films were the delightful Pleasantville and the more than decent horse race flick Seabiscuit. In Hunger Games Ross does the legion of Collins fans proud, of course this all comes with compromises. The books aren't necessarily what I'd call high art in the first place and the story -although an interesting concept- has been done before in films like The Running Man and Battle Royale. The Hunger Games is much tamer than those 2 films and that is one of the problems I had with Ross' film. It doesn't have that Tarantino explicitness going for it. Then again there's is stuff to recommend here too.

The story is set in the near future where a "survivor"-type reality TV show is organized by a big brother-type of government. The catch? the government chosen, lottery picked teenage contestants have to kill off each other with only one winner remaining in the end. Pretty dark stuff right? And Ross does an admirably good job with the story and keeping our attention throughout. The problem lies with the fact that the 140 minute running time isn't enough to fully develop the story. And of the 24 contestants vying to stay alive, only a handful actually get decently developed. There also is a gooey love story that just didn't need to be developed this much -even though I hear it's just as prominent in the book, which kind of explains all the rabid teenage girls that have fallen prey to the novels. The film falls short in being a great Sci-Fi movie because it just doesn't have the social criticism that infused such classics as Minority Report or 2001 - the series' readership sadly does not have the ability to comprehend such heavy stuff.

What keeps this film from being a dissapointment? Jennifer Lawrence's great performance as heroine Katniss Everdine. Lawrence, who's quiet performance in 2010's underrated Winter's Bone still haunts me to this day, shows incredible flair for a 20 year old actress. Her wits as an actress are noticed and the film just wouldn't be the same without her fiery talent. Everdine is an expert archer and her bow is the talent that can keep her from dying in the bloody contest. There are gripping action scenes which are just as disturbing as anything I've seen in Hollywood this year. Kids fighting kids to death? of course that will get our attention, it's a juicy plot that really works at times. However at close to 142 minutes long the film can be draggy and doesn't go anywhere but then again Ross -out of nowhere- can grab our attention by staging expertly done and suspenseful action set pieces.

"Titanic 3D" & memories

It's really no surprise when I say that Titanic 3D is the best movie playing right now in movie theaters. Its epic scope and unsurprising amount of passion beats anything. I remember watching the film for the first time more than 17 years ago and being amazed by its pop spectacle. And all through the years I've had a chance to re-watch it and re-live what I had experienced in that very same theater in December of 1997. One can however look back on the flaws that have encompassed James Cameron's film. I always thought the upper class/lower class divide in the film was a bit too facile and manipulative, as if Cameron wanted the rich too be sleazy and devious and the poor to be all too innocent. Ditto Cameron's dialogue which has always been a problem in his films from The Terminator all the way to Avatar.

Then there's the love story which is really the heart and soul of the film and something that I'm sure was well thought out and had substantial meaning to Cameron. It can clearly be seen on screen through the images he creates and NOT the dialogue -"I'll never let go Jack"? ugh. That's the thing though, with all the flaws that come with a Cameron film you can never deny his passion for the images he creates. Just look at Avatar which was worth watching for its incredible imagery despite its Pocahontas-like deja vu and semiprofessional dialogue. In Titanic Cameron explains his story through harrowing images like that of an upside down ship cracked to it foundation, falling bodies dipping into a sea of nothing or two lovers standing at the peak of the boat with their arms up in the air as if finally free of the conventions.

Then there's of course that famous scene in which Kate Winslet's Rose poses naked for Leonardo Dicaprio's Jack. Such pop culture moments are far and few these days. When was the last time a movie came out in which an entire nation was dissecting a slew of its scenes? That stuff just doesn't happen anymore not even when The Dark Knight came out and made Titanic-esque money. However as much as Cameron is to be congratulated for his poet's eye and degraded for his tin ears, one cannot forget the amazing performances that came in the form of Dicaprio and Winslet's. Their careers were just starting and they were not yet known as major talents yet the film changed everything. This is one of those rare instances where actor and actress came together to create something special & given the fact that Dicaprio didn't even get nominated for an Oscar shows the lack of brains in the academy's arsenal at the time.

At the end of it all this was a pop culture masterpiece. Something that not only critics could rave about but audiences too. A kind of Gone With Wind phenomenon that America hadn't really seen since that 1939 epic. Sometimes a movie is just too damn good to neglect despite its obvious flaws and Titanic was that very movie, an American epic that just wow-ed people and convinced them of the power and possibilities that movies can create. James Cameron visual eye, Winslet & Dicaprio's incredible talents and the breathtaking special effects took it all home for us and left us moved by the end of its blown up 194 minute running time . Now if only Cameron could have resisted and taken out that god-awful Celine Dion song.

"Chronicle"-ing a super hero

★★½ to ★★★ (PG-13)

I was kinda won over by Chronicle. Its story is the essentially the beginnings of a comic book super hero. Much in the same way as M. Night Shayamalan's severely underrated Unbreakable (although not as good). I won't spoil anything but to say that Chronicle does works wonders in many scenes, making you blink twice with its surprises only to run off with excess in its finale. It's all good. Chronicle is just what I needed this spring. Not much has been good and the one decent movie you find to be decent is well worth mentioning. Which doesn't mean Chronicle is average, but it most likely would have been forgotten by yours truly if there were better movies out there to watch. Nevertheless I was still taken by its tale of three high school friends who make an incredible discovery. It's when their lives spin out of control and the darker side of the story gets unleashed that the movie really takes off, showing just how fragile we are as human beings and how easily corrupted we can be as well. Stuff that's been done to death before but is given a cool style here. The film is shot -by first time director Josh Trank- with hand held digital camera. big studio pictures love shooting this way now, just check out last month's Project X, and I do think that shooting the movie this way does makes the story a bit more plausible. Especially given its sometimes lazy script and the flaws that inhibit it. But really do go watch Chronicle, its got a cool vibe going for it, has a slim running time at just 84 minutes long and does have more things to say than most American stuff out there at the moment.

Denis Villeneuve finally coming to a theatre near you

I've been a pretty big supporter of Quebec born filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. I always figured that his incredible visual style -watch Maelstrom- and brilliant storytelling -watch Incendies- would be a big hit in Hollywood with the critics and audiences. Well, the talented Canadian filmmaker has just signed on to direct Prisoners starring Hugh Jackman. I guess you can say he's finally hit the big time. This is great news for Villeneuve fans such as myself whom have been championing his work for quite a few years now. I'm actually amazed he didn't hit Hollywood sooner but I guess they had to wait until he got an Oscar Nomination, which happened in 2011 when Incendies got nominated for Best Foreign Film. Another unknown gem of a film that came out not long ago, Polytechnique is well worth watching too although I'm sure it'll be tough to find that one at any video store, although if you do that store is a keeper.

Rent:

Incendies ★★★½
Maelstrom ★★★
Polytechnique ★★★

The Ten Best Movies Of 2011

1. The Tree Of Life

It isn't always for me to call a movie a "masterpiece" or "great" but Terrence Malick's The Tree Of Life is just that - a mosaic of a film that tests an audiences limitations but more importantly the cinematic medium's limitations. No matter what faults you may have with Malick's movie, you cannot deny the sheer chutzpah and originality that went into its creation. There has never really been anything quite like it and I highly doubt there ever will be. Malick tries to transcend the boundaries of life itself by trying to find a kind of meaning that can possibly bind us with a higher power. His search is for transcendence, in the little moments that make and shape us. Death, morning, rebirth, transcendence are just a fraction of the themes being tackled here, suffice to say I don't think the Transformers 3 crowd will very warm up to the film's non linear narrative and constant use of abstract shapes and colors representing a kind of big bang.



2. Drive

Drive is not a perfect movie but it has all the traits and reasons that had us watch movies in the first place. Or at least the majority of us. It's a violently artsy action picture that doesn't meander to a particular audience. It has a way of being unique and uncompromising in its visionary dreaming. It knows what it wants to be from the get go and goes along with it. Its 100 minutes zip by like a bursting fuel drag-racing at night & Gosling -along with an incredibly villainous Albert Brooks and a heartbreaking Bryan Cranston- brings a kind of coolness that lacks in most pictures these days. By the time The Driver puts on his stunt mask and makes all hell breaks loose in the film's over the top but scattering finale, it is clear that Drive is a movie that can haunt your dreams.




3. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Grasping a film such as this one may require some major attention from the viewer himself and even when the attention is there, frustration may come about as a result of the film's abstractedness and non-linear narrative. This is all not so surprising when you consider Apichatpong Weerasethakul's filmography and his constant acknowledgment of nature and the way it binds to us as human beings. Have I lost you yet? snoozing? That's how some folks might react when watching Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Coming out of the screening I attended earlier last year, there was a kind of head scratching vibe in the air. It was as if Weerasethakul's film had not only confused to the general public as to its overall praise but actually angered them in frustration with what they had witnessed. After all, a word of caution is always necessary before going into any of his films, because this is really the definition of an art film, capital A in art of course. I dug it for the its mystery and its dream like tendencies.

4. Melancholia

Melancholia isn't a film for everyone but it is a thinker's movie. Love it or hate it, there is something that is being said here. Von Trier might be a madman but he's not an idiot. He is an auteur first and foremost and attention does need to be paid. In fact this would be a very interesting companion piece to 2011's best movie, Terrence Malick's The Tree Of Life - two totally different works of art but both statements about human nature and creation itself. The second half is incredibly hypnotic. The apocalypse is here and yet Justine's sister Christine is told by her oblivious husband -a playful Kiefer Sutherland- that she need not worry, nothing is coming and the mysterious planet Melancholia will just bypass earth. Dunst -knowing death is near- starts coming off her depression and Christine knowing death is near starts going into depression. It's a brilliant switcheroo that proves to us Von Trier has not lost his ability to be a real thinker. He knows how to manipulate then hit his audience hard. His images are memorable and his film a complete work of art.



5. Incendies

Canada's official entry for this year's Best Foreign Picture Oscar is a masterwork of visual and narrative storytelling. It is about family, tradition and the new world order. Directed by Quebec's Denis Villeneuve, here's a film that transcends its ambitions and becomes an incredible experience for the viewer. Featuring one of the better twist endings of the past 10 years of movies.



6. Bellflower

A general theme of my top ten list this year is explaining the unexplainable. Some of these films are too hard to explain yet resonate deeply. In Bellflower director Evan Glodell has made a shamelessly relentless pop masterpiece. As Two friends spend all their free time building flame-throwers and weapons of mass destruction in hopes that a global apocalypse will occur and clear the runway for their imaginary gang "Mother Medusa". Yet one of them falls in love and then the girl breaks his heart, what he feels afterwards is the definition of the apocalypse. Glodell wants to show us just how apocalyptic a broken heart can be and just how our hero loses track of himself in the process . The images don't always make sense and the ambiguous ending only adds to the frustration, yet Bellflower is a beauty for that very reason. it stands alone in a sea of Hollywood muck as a true visionary work that will get more fans as the years go along.



7. The Skin I Live In

Disappointment was met with Pedro Almodvar's latest yet there were a few - like Glenn Kenny and myself included- that felt like this was prime Almodovar. No kidding. The Skin I Live In was a hell of a ride that had more twists per minute than any other movie last year. Yes it was trashy but it was trash made with resonance, feeling and -above all else- real elegance. Antonio Banderas' plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a woman that pleases his fantasies and urges. His guinea pig: a mysterious and dangerous patient that has secrets we the audience do not know about and are scared to find out. The eventa that binds both of these tortured souls are the true heart of the picture. Featuring one of the best twist endings I've seen in a good, long while. A film that would make one hell of a great double feature with Chan-Wook's Park's Oldboy, Almodovar dares us to go along for the ride like a true master of his craft. Go with it.



8. Source Code

In Duncan Jones' followup to Moon -a great 2009 movie- Jake Gyllenhall is a dead American Soldier who's brain is used to go back in time and find clues as to where a terrorist might be. It doesn't help he has to repeat the same 8 minutes throughout the whole film in a train, which has the said terrorist as a passenger. Have you lost me yet? Don't worry. Jones infuses his movie with enough smarts and entertainment to justify its mediocre third act. Here's a film that not only trusts its audience but rewards it with some extra high octane action in the process. Gyllenhall's Captain Colter Stevens does not really know where he is yet he keeps getting transported back in time to the same event. Think Groundhog Day meets Minority Report and you might see what Jones is aiming for here. I doubt there was a smarter, more visually appealing big studio action film out there. Source Code is the kind of layered science fiction I like best; brainy and entertaining.



9) Margaret 

 Margaret" is an absolute masterpiece. It's thematically going for the tone of a grandiose opera, but in a modern day context, filtered through the emotions of a teenage girl in association with a tragedy. It expresses the emotional teenage mind-set like no other. Every performance is astounding and every character it so compelling and fully-realized. I would compare it to the likes of "Requiem for a Dream," "Magnolia," "There Will Be Blood," "Synecdoche, New York," "The Tree of Life," and other movies that tell sprawling emotional melodramas that just hook you in and don't let you go. If you're into that kind of thing, this is for you. There's no doubt in my mind that if this movie hadn't been tangled up in lawsuits years ago, it would have been a huge Oscar contender and Anna Paquin surely would be winning tons of awards for her performance. It's such a shame that a movie of this size and scope was overlooked.


 

10. Bridesmaids 

Bridesmaids tried to bring humane femininity to a multiplex lacking in it. Of course there's pussy jokes and a hilarious, disgusting wedding dress sequence but what The Hangover 2 lacked in human emotions Bridesmaids more than makes up for it in its witty, keenly written script by Wiig and Annie Mumolo. Bridesmaids has a contemporary freshness that brings it all the way home. No wonder it made more than 100 million dollars at the box office and has become a critical darling. Enough with the artificial numbers. Feig's film was a competition between the maid of honor and the bridesmaid, a roaringly funny rivalry that made me laugh more than anything else in 2011. Movies like these are far and few but when they do show up they really feel like one thing and one thing only; a breath of fresh.


11. The Lincoln Lawyer, Brad Furman

12. Limitless, Neil Burger

13. A Better Life, Chris Weitz

14. Pariah, Dee Rees

15. Hugo, Martin Scorsese

16. Like Crazy, Drake Doremus

17. Terri, Azazel Jacobs

18. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, David Fincher

19. Policeman, Nadav Lapid

20. Cafe De Flore, Jean-Marc Vallee

21. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, Rupert Wyatt

22. War Horse, Steven Spielberg

23. Certified Copy, Abbas Kiarostami

A note on "21 Jump Street"

★★★ (R)

Every once in a while a comedy can actually work and make you laugh. For me it happens only a few times a year. Last year we had Paul Feig's delirious Bridesmaids in previous years we've had stuff like There's Something About Mary, Meet The Parents, The Hangover, Wedding Crashers, The 40 Year Old Virgin .. You know, comedy that actually works and doesn't need to be deep or full of substance but just really fun. The already mentioned films became mini phenomenon's of sort as word of mouth usually quickly spreads like gangbusters on these movies and they eventually become big, well deserved hits. Anyways to put a long story short, the newly released 21 Jump Street is that kind of movie. It's a game changer. The jokes work, the actors are perfectly cast and the script is insanely fun. Oh and check out that absurd cameo near the end of the movie. Just don't take it too seriously, this isn't the second coming or a high work of art it's just pure, brainless fun with incredibly well-timed jokes. I just wish they had cut first ten minutes and the last ten which were really not needed and didn't add up to much in the end. But what am I being a douche for, this is fun stuff that has -deservedly so- made a splash at the box office. No Kidding.

The strange life of Robert Crumb

Terry Zwigoff's documentary on the profanely controversial underground comic artist Robert Crumb is both amusing and disturbing. Crumb is not a person that one would call average or of normality. He is a man that has real distaste for the people around him and the perceived craziness that is his surroundings. He's Kinda right. He sees the plastic-ism that has made us into an industry and his comic art - groundbreaking stuff- has made him known for his uncompromising vision. He draws his own traumas and fantasies with relentless assault. He doesn't compromise nor is he afraid to shock. Women's rights groups have called a jihad on his ass and his haters are peeved off. For good reason. His views on women in his art can be qualified as sexist by some but I would call it honest. He draws what's on his mind, his honesty is his therapy especially when you realize where he's come from. His sisters refused to get interviewed for the documentary but his two brothers take the test. Especially Charles, who strips himself naked on camera as we slowly, inch by inch uncover deep, dark secrets about the Crumb's childhood. A manic depressive that rarely takes showers and is on high dosages of medication Charles is an incredibly disturbing sight to see, a kind of underground vision of an American life gone bad.

Robert is the lucky one and has gotten fame through the art that Charles taught him at childhood. Robert refuses to sell out, even with lucrative six figure offers coming to him. He's one of the few undisputed talents that hasn't sold himself out. His art speaks for itself. Stories so ridiculous yet so brilliantly satirical they sting. His women drawn sensually and dominantly, all with big thighs and other particularly original traits that need to be seen. He was bullied as a kid and drawing was his way of getting back. He took revenge on the bullies and the women that rejected him through his drawings. The autobiographical aspect of his work brings a new meaning to personal artistic statements. The film may have a repetitive flow to it at times but it springs surprises that sting. Crumb is the true definition of a maverick and definitely not what Sarah Palin's dictionary would define that word as.

Better late than never ...

My 20 or so favorites of 2011. I know it's coming a bit too late but I really tried to watch everything that was worthwhile. Commentary should be included very soon and so will other neat stuff. In the meantime, this is a rough sketch of how it looks like.

01. The Tree Of Life (Terrence Malick)
02. Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn)
03. Melancholia (Lars Von Trier)
04. Uncle Boonmee (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
05. Bellflower (Glodell/Dawson)
06. The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodovar)
07. Source Code (Duncan Jones)
08. Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami)
09. Bridesmaids (Paul Feig)
10. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher)
11. A Better Life (Chris Weitz)
12. Limitless (Neil Burger)
13. Policeman (Nadav Lapid)
14. The Lincoln Lawyer (Brad Furman)
15. Hugo (Martin Scorsese)
16. Terri (Azazel Jacobs)
17. Cafe De Flore (Jean Marc Vallee)
18. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (Ruper Wyatt)
19. War Horse (Steven Spielberg)
20. Moneyball (Benneth Miller)

Project X

If Project X proves anything it's that there still is a place for a raunchy, coming of age, immature movie in the movies today. Albeit it also proves how films like Road Trip and Old School got it right the first time out and there didn't really need to be any other follow-ups to these frat-brat classics. Project X -no matter how badly written, directed and acted it might be- can sometimes be a real guilty pleasure to watch. There isn't a boob missed, a shot of rum not taken or a hell bent teenager not seen. Hell you can't call this high art but it is nevertheless a diverting experience for the most part - a teenage parent's true worst nightmare on full display. A film like Project X is rarely something that should be accepted in theatres. It's rude, profane, ridiculously conceived and doesn't have much in the way of plot of character. You might feel dirty for semi-liking it once the credits start rolling but what the hell, you only live once.

Lately the trend for movies involving coming of age teenagers has been the use of hand-held camera. I'm thinking of last month's underrated Chronicle or even the teenage film lovers from last year's excitable Super 8. It's almost like it's a cool thing now for a movie to have hand-held. The protagonists in Project X are being filmed by a friend we never see, he just loves his camera and to film his buddies as they try to up their street cred in High School by throwing the biggest party imaginable. This isn't a party like any other and -for a moment there- you feel like you're right in the heat of the action. The party, which was supposed to be of decent size, goes viral all the way to craig's list in fact, and there ends up being close to 1500 people by the end of the night. A real big recipe for disaster. There are midgets, nudity, next door neighbor complaints, cops, sex, drugs and -well duh- skinny dipping. It all doesn't add up to much and once the party starts shutting down the movie goes MIA and loses its grip but then again did we expect much from this movie in the first place?