We were lured into going to this film (which is a late addition to the festival) today by a 2 for 1 ticket offer and we should have resisted the temptation. It was a slow-moving story about how assorted bunches of American teenagers spend the last night of the summer vacation. They're all supposed to be at single sex sleepovers but they go AWOL to fraternise with the opposite sex and drink a lot. The brochure blurb suggested a charmingly nostalgic tale of adolescence, but that isn't what was delivered.
It is perhaps not surprising that a film with the word myth in the title is unbelievable. Ludicrous, even. Given the quantity of alcohol that was consumed, nobody seemed worse for wear - there was only one delicate vomiting episode from which the victim recovered incredibly quickly. Not only did no-one appear drunk, there was no bad language, no breakages and they all drove or walked all over town in the middle of the night and came to no harm. There was no sexual aggression or unwanted groping and I found it amazing that not only did one boy say "can I kiss you?" or "I want to kiss you" before doing it but they all did. All the characters were ridiculously articulate.
Just to round out my list of gripes, the film was a funny colour - sort of faded. Perhaps this was supposed to add to sense of nostalgia that the maker was trying to cultivate, but I just found it irritating. And while it was clearly supposed to be set on a balmy summer evening, it just didn't look warm.
Anne's rating 2/5
This film followed a cute Kiwi short film about young boys breaking into an old house in search of Playboy magazines. By comparison The Myth of the American Sleepover was filmed with a faded looking colour cast. This plus the timeless fashion might be intended to give the film a nostalgic look but really nostalgia is better achieved by picking a subject the viewers are familiar with and emotionally attached to. Unfortunately alcohol and chasing the opposite sex were not part of my teenage years, so I am probably not the target audience for this film, and it didn't win me over.
I agree with Anne about how impervious to alcohol these teenagers seemed to be. I wasn't as irritated by the film as Anne was but it isn't a film I'd recommend.
Ian's rating 1.5/5
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Once Upon a Time in the West
Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow is not only a dance rhythm, but also the rhythm of Once Upon a Time in the West. The film switches back and forth between slow sequences where nothing seems to happen and explosions of violence.
The opening scene, with its irritating noises (squeaky water pump, buzzing fly, etc) and lack of dialogue is one of cinema's best remembered opening sequences. It is also the first hint that Sergio Leone might be playing with us. The harmonica that seems to be part of the score until one of the characters notices it in a way that seems like he is breaking the fourth wall in an unusual way, is the confirmation that Sergio Leone is using all his skills to tell this story with as much flare as possible. In fact the story is secondary to the way it is told. The whole plot seems to be his MacGuffin. This is the Western as style rather than substance. The sun, heat, lack of water and women, the machismo, the ritual of the gunfights, the division of labour between the toiling (and cowardly) workers and the otherwise idle gunslingers, violence as a means of decision making, the lack of consequences for some actions and fatal consequences for others.
That said, the two plots are presented as mysteries. We know who is being killed and who is killing but the motives are only gradually revealed, one motive being kept secret until the final scenes.
The humour is laconic and dry.
Or more famously:
The largely imperturbable Jill (Claudia Cardinale), the lone female character around which all the gunfighters orbit like comets, has to put up with men who range from patronising, to non-PC, to misogynistic. Unfortunately she isn't given much acting to do. The orbiting men played by Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Jason Robards are all menacing, ruthless dominating characters. In particular Charles Bronson's cool, quiet, unbelievably fast shooting harmonica player is the best I have seen him act.
I think Sergio Leone must have had a passion for blue eyes, given the number of lingering close ups of staring blue eyes (especially Henry Fonda's).
Ian's rating 4/5
The opening scene, with its irritating noises (squeaky water pump, buzzing fly, etc) and lack of dialogue is one of cinema's best remembered opening sequences. It is also the first hint that Sergio Leone might be playing with us. The harmonica that seems to be part of the score until one of the characters notices it in a way that seems like he is breaking the fourth wall in an unusual way, is the confirmation that Sergio Leone is using all his skills to tell this story with as much flare as possible. In fact the story is secondary to the way it is told. The whole plot seems to be his MacGuffin. This is the Western as style rather than substance. The sun, heat, lack of water and women, the machismo, the ritual of the gunfights, the division of labour between the toiling (and cowardly) workers and the otherwise idle gunslingers, violence as a means of decision making, the lack of consequences for some actions and fatal consequences for others.
That said, the two plots are presented as mysteries. We know who is being killed and who is killing but the motives are only gradually revealed, one motive being kept secret until the final scenes.
The humour is laconic and dry.
Frank: How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? The man can't even trust his own pants.
Or more famously:
Harmonica faces three gunmen at the railway station.
Harmonica: Did you bring a horse for me?
Snaky: Well... looks like we're...
[snickers]
Snaky: ...looks like we're shy one horse.
Harmonica: You brought two too many.
The largely imperturbable Jill (Claudia Cardinale), the lone female character around which all the gunfighters orbit like comets, has to put up with men who range from patronising, to non-PC, to misogynistic. Unfortunately she isn't given much acting to do. The orbiting men played by Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Jason Robards are all menacing, ruthless dominating characters. In particular Charles Bronson's cool, quiet, unbelievably fast shooting harmonica player is the best I have seen him act.
I think Sergio Leone must have had a passion for blue eyes, given the number of lingering close ups of staring blue eyes (especially Henry Fonda's).
Ian's rating 4/5
Predicament
The Film Festival's Wellington season kicked off tonight with the New Zealand Premiere of Predicament which is the film of a novel by the same name. This black and comic tale is set in 1930's Taranaki,and it's teenager hero is named Cedric. He is a slightly anorexic-looking version of Harry Potter and he and the movie have a kind of story-book yesteryear charm - think Boys' own annual, or possibly the Famous Five, and then try to imagine how either of those might try to handle a tale involving murder and sex.
It's school holidays and Cedric becomes acquainted with an unemployed petty criminal named Mervyn and his creepy but hilarious side-kick, Spook. They hatch a plan to blackmail some unfortunate locals, particularly the property developer who ripped off Cedric's Grandmother. As the plan is executed Cedric wrestles elaborately with his conscience about his level of participation and anything that can go wrong does go wrong. You'll have to go and see the movie to find out what happens but I can promise you a wholesomely happy, if somewhat cunning, ending to an unwholesome tale.
Predicament doesn't take itself very seriously. It makes fun of all sorts of things, and all kinds of movie genres but especially thrillers and detective stories. There is gloriously deadpan humour, some slapstick physical comedy and some "lets zoom-right-in-your-face" camera work.It is very atmospheric and the dialogue is witty. Spook (played by Jemaine Clement) is a joy to watch and listen to - he materialises from nowhere and almost steals the show.
I could happily watch this movie again tomorrow - I feel there's plenty more to appreciate than I took in in one viewing.
Anne's rating 4/5
Ian's rating 3/4
It's school holidays and Cedric becomes acquainted with an unemployed petty criminal named Mervyn and his creepy but hilarious side-kick, Spook. They hatch a plan to blackmail some unfortunate locals, particularly the property developer who ripped off Cedric's Grandmother. As the plan is executed Cedric wrestles elaborately with his conscience about his level of participation and anything that can go wrong does go wrong. You'll have to go and see the movie to find out what happens but I can promise you a wholesomely happy, if somewhat cunning, ending to an unwholesome tale.
Predicament doesn't take itself very seriously. It makes fun of all sorts of things, and all kinds of movie genres but especially thrillers and detective stories. There is gloriously deadpan humour, some slapstick physical comedy and some "lets zoom-right-in-your-face" camera work.It is very atmospheric and the dialogue is witty. Spook (played by Jemaine Clement) is a joy to watch and listen to - he materialises from nowhere and almost steals the show.
I could happily watch this movie again tomorrow - I feel there's plenty more to appreciate than I took in in one viewing.
Anne's rating 4/5
Ian's rating 3/4
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Peaceful Times
Like Boy, Peaceful Times is a narration of a particular childhood told from the point of view of one of the children, and like Boy it's a comedy with dark undertones.
The particular childhood is that of one of the two school-age daughters in a family who have escaped from East Germany to West Germany in the 1960's. Their father (Dieter) is thriving in his new environment, their Mother (Irene) isn't. She has difficulty making friends, pines for her old lifestyle and worries constantly about West German germs (I'm not kidding!), the Russian Army invading and what her husband is doing while he's out. It's as if she has agoraphobia and West Germany is outdoors.
The parents argue often, and the girls conclude that the family would be better off if their parents were divorced, so they conspire to make this happen. One of my favourite scenes was the girls tying their little brother to a chair and brow-beating him into colluding in their scheme.
The fundamental question of the film is whether Irene's neurosis is too much for her marriage to bear, though there's no question that her husband and children love her profoundly. A trip back to East Germany for Irene when her mother dies is a make-or-break experience.
Peaceful Times is a tremendously likeable film. The characters are engaging and the costumes and sets and attitudes conjure up the sixties perfectly. For a film that revolves around relationship struggles it is very good-humoured and easy to watch.
Anne's rating 4/5
Ian's rating 3/5
The particular childhood is that of one of the two school-age daughters in a family who have escaped from East Germany to West Germany in the 1960's. Their father (Dieter) is thriving in his new environment, their Mother (Irene) isn't. She has difficulty making friends, pines for her old lifestyle and worries constantly about West German germs (I'm not kidding!), the Russian Army invading and what her husband is doing while he's out. It's as if she has agoraphobia and West Germany is outdoors.
The parents argue often, and the girls conclude that the family would be better off if their parents were divorced, so they conspire to make this happen. One of my favourite scenes was the girls tying their little brother to a chair and brow-beating him into colluding in their scheme.
The fundamental question of the film is whether Irene's neurosis is too much for her marriage to bear, though there's no question that her husband and children love her profoundly. A trip back to East Germany for Irene when her mother dies is a make-or-break experience.
Peaceful Times is a tremendously likeable film. The characters are engaging and the costumes and sets and attitudes conjure up the sixties perfectly. For a film that revolves around relationship struggles it is very good-humoured and easy to watch.
Anne's rating 4/5
Ian's rating 3/5
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Boy
Boy is one of those rare things - a New Zealand film that's doing well at the box office (a week ago it had almost made as much money as Sione's wedding), that doesn't take itself too seriously and that isn't (too) black. It's comedy, and while it has tragic undertones you don't have to dwell on those if you don't want to.
Boy has been described as a coming of age movie but I think it's more a "this is what my childhood was like" movie. It's told in a very matter-of-fact way and part of its charm is that the boy narrator seems completely unconscious of what an amazing story it is - how an eleven year-old whose mother is dead and whose father is in prison can be left in charge of four younger siblings and cousins while their care-giver grandmother goes to a tangi in Wellington. Boy draws us a very vivid picture of life in a mainly maori community not far from East Cape in the 1980s where normality is no-one having any money, having a more intimate relationship with your pet goat than with your father, your friends having picking marijuana as their after school job, and being fascinated with Michael Jackson. Boy is the aforementioned eleven year old and his little brother Rocky (who might or might not have magic powers) is an almost equally important character
Into this normality comes Boy's father(Alamein), who roars onto the scene in a big black Chrysler Valiant with two fellow gang members (this gang affiliation is not to be taken too seriously since the three of them are all the members!) with the intention of finding the proceeds of a robbery that is buried in a field near his mother's house. And the crux of the story is Boy adjusting to the real Alamein, after having had a fantasy father figure for the last seven years. Alamein introduces Boy to drugs and alcohol with almost tragic results, and Boy finds the buried money with differently tragic results.
There are lots of things to love about this film - the cars, the clothes, the child actors, the dialogue and the accents. On of my favourite scenes was Boy serving his father and fellow gang members cups of tea in the Chrysler and another was Boy doing battle with the school floor polisher which was almost as big as he is. The finale (a Michael Jackson dance number which involves almost the entire cast) is a particular gem.
Watch the trailer here
Anne's rating: 4/5
Boy has been described as a coming of age movie but I think it's more a "this is what my childhood was like" movie. It's told in a very matter-of-fact way and part of its charm is that the boy narrator seems completely unconscious of what an amazing story it is - how an eleven year-old whose mother is dead and whose father is in prison can be left in charge of four younger siblings and cousins while their care-giver grandmother goes to a tangi in Wellington. Boy draws us a very vivid picture of life in a mainly maori community not far from East Cape in the 1980s where normality is no-one having any money, having a more intimate relationship with your pet goat than with your father, your friends having picking marijuana as their after school job, and being fascinated with Michael Jackson. Boy is the aforementioned eleven year old and his little brother Rocky (who might or might not have magic powers) is an almost equally important character
Into this normality comes Boy's father(Alamein), who roars onto the scene in a big black Chrysler Valiant with two fellow gang members (this gang affiliation is not to be taken too seriously since the three of them are all the members!) with the intention of finding the proceeds of a robbery that is buried in a field near his mother's house. And the crux of the story is Boy adjusting to the real Alamein, after having had a fantasy father figure for the last seven years. Alamein introduces Boy to drugs and alcohol with almost tragic results, and Boy finds the buried money with differently tragic results.
There are lots of things to love about this film - the cars, the clothes, the child actors, the dialogue and the accents. On of my favourite scenes was Boy serving his father and fellow gang members cups of tea in the Chrysler and another was Boy doing battle with the school floor polisher which was almost as big as he is. The finale (a Michael Jackson dance number which involves almost the entire cast) is a particular gem.
Watch the trailer here
Anne's rating: 4/5
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The White Ribbon
At the start of "The White Ribbon" the narrator tells us that this is a story of strange events he doesn't fully understand but feels they explain what happened to Germany in the 20th century. If you were late finding your seat and missed this bit you'd think you were watching a particularly convoluted series of revenge mysteries in a small uptight north German village, where the most high tech thing in the village is the Baron's bicycle.
The narrator is the school teacher in a village where the biggest employer is the local Baron who employs most of the small village during harvest time. A fatal accident and a series of attacks (most of which look like revenge attacks though it not always clear who carried them out and why) disturb the life of the village. As events unfold we get to know various people's unsavoury secrets. Despite appearances this village is far from idyllic.
Inexplicably the children of the village seem to know more about what is going on than the adults, though they don't let on what. It seems that I was not alone in being reminded of Village of the Damned. But this film is full of red herrings, and I am sure most people will feel cheated by the end, as the director Michael Haneke is deliberately subverting our expectations of how films should work.
In addition to all the mystery, violence and secrets there is a cute love story between the school teacher and the Baron's children's young nanny, including a priceless meet the family scene.
I suspect everyone left the cinema with a different idea of how (or if) the film tied in with German history. That said, it is a very nicely made film -- filmed in colour apparently but turned into harsh but beautiful black and white during post-production.
Watch trailer here.
Ian's rating 3/5
The narrator is the school teacher in a village where the biggest employer is the local Baron who employs most of the small village during harvest time. A fatal accident and a series of attacks (most of which look like revenge attacks though it not always clear who carried them out and why) disturb the life of the village. As events unfold we get to know various people's unsavoury secrets. Despite appearances this village is far from idyllic.
Inexplicably the children of the village seem to know more about what is going on than the adults, though they don't let on what. It seems that I was not alone in being reminded of Village of the Damned. But this film is full of red herrings, and I am sure most people will feel cheated by the end, as the director Michael Haneke is deliberately subverting our expectations of how films should work.
In addition to all the mystery, violence and secrets there is a cute love story between the school teacher and the Baron's children's young nanny, including a priceless meet the family scene.
I suspect everyone left the cinema with a different idea of how (or if) the film tied in with German history. That said, it is a very nicely made film -- filmed in colour apparently but turned into harsh but beautiful black and white during post-production.
Watch trailer here.
Ian's rating 3/5
Cairo Time
An unplanned romance between a beautiful blonde 50+ year old Canadian woman and a somewhat younger and equally good looking Westernised Egyptian while the former is at a loose end in Cairo seems a likely synopsis for a shallow chick-flick or date movie. But Cairo Time fails to deliver. Patricia Clarkson is a good actor and she does a great impression of jet lag, but she unfortunately keeps it up for the entire film. She is also saddled with a character that is too neurotic and selfish to be engaging and her relationship with her husband doesn't make sense. He is a UN official in charge of a refugee camp in Gaza but she shows a complete lack of understanding of what that means. There are other irritating inconsistencies. At the beginning of the film she is followed and jostled by men when she walks the streets alone. Later she walks alone unmolested.
Alexander Siddig as Tareq does a reasonable job as a man comfortable both in the ways of the West and in the slower life of Egypt, but he does seem somewhat detached from both. He is conveniently without family, friends or much in the way of job commitments.
All of this might be forgiven if there was some chemistry between the lead characters. Even that is missing and the script doesn't help here. It meanders along without much direction or plot. A few unconnected things happen but don't amount to anything. This includes a promising sub-plot of Tareq's ex-girlfriend reappearing.
On the plus side Cairo looks good. The early scenes are especially good at summing up the crowds, noise, traffic and buildings. But all this is lost in later scenes when the streets are often empty, and a lot of the street noise is replaced by music. The Pyramids naturally play a big part in the film and there is some nice filming in an unnamed mosque and a bit of desert, but there are plenty of other sights in Cairo that could have been used to give viewers more of a taste for the city but in fact for much of the film it is an anonymous backdrop and could have been any large 3rd World city.
Watch trailer here.
Ian's rating 1/5 Anne's rating 2/5
Alexander Siddig as Tareq does a reasonable job as a man comfortable both in the ways of the West and in the slower life of Egypt, but he does seem somewhat detached from both. He is conveniently without family, friends or much in the way of job commitments.
All of this might be forgiven if there was some chemistry between the lead characters. Even that is missing and the script doesn't help here. It meanders along without much direction or plot. A few unconnected things happen but don't amount to anything. This includes a promising sub-plot of Tareq's ex-girlfriend reappearing.
On the plus side Cairo looks good. The early scenes are especially good at summing up the crowds, noise, traffic and buildings. But all this is lost in later scenes when the streets are often empty, and a lot of the street noise is replaced by music. The Pyramids naturally play a big part in the film and there is some nice filming in an unnamed mosque and a bit of desert, but there are plenty of other sights in Cairo that could have been used to give viewers more of a taste for the city but in fact for much of the film it is an anonymous backdrop and could have been any large 3rd World city.
Watch trailer here.
Ian's rating 1/5 Anne's rating 2/5
Endgame
I suspect most people who have heard about Nelson Mandela know that the South African government held secret talks with him while he was still in jail. What I didn't know was that the ANC wasn't aware of what was being talked about and were suspicious that he would be pressured into some deal behind their backs (as they saw it). I also didn't know that Consolidated Goldfields (since bought by Hanson plc) were worried about their South African mines and started a parallel series of secret talks in the UK between the ANC and white South Africans with indirect links to the government. These talks were organised by Michael Young and are the subject of Endgame.
The film is structured around a slow moving build up to the talks; following Michael Young as he tries to find white people willing to talk and is dogged by less than subtle secret agents. The camera work here is jumpy in an unsubtle and (to my mind) unsuccessful attempt to create tension. Mid-section of the film follows the two sets of talks. One in a posh English country house and the other in a South African jail. This is less about the substance of the talks than the roles of Thabo Mbeki (as a sophisticated and unyielding negotiator for the ANC), Professor Willie Esterhuyse (under orders to negotiate nothing and act as a reluctant spy) and Dr Neil Barnard (head of the Nation Intelligence Service as spider in the middle). This is the most successful part of the film, capturing the ambiguities of the government trying to both destroy the ANC and talk to it and similarly the ANC trying to figure out if the government is serious about peace talks or if it is a divide and conquer strategy. The final act begins with P.W. Botha's stroke and things happen so quickly I found it slightly unsatisfactory. Almost like F.W. de Klerk comes to power and then a miracle occurs.
People sitting around a table talking is not a good subject for a film, but Endgame succeeds in bringing out the irony of negotiations between a powerful government and the representatives of the people it is subjugating. The government wants concessions from the ANC but any concessions by the ANC would lead to it agreeing to some special deal for whites.
Watch trailer here.
Ian's rating 3/5 Anne's rating 3/5
The film is structured around a slow moving build up to the talks; following Michael Young as he tries to find white people willing to talk and is dogged by less than subtle secret agents. The camera work here is jumpy in an unsubtle and (to my mind) unsuccessful attempt to create tension. Mid-section of the film follows the two sets of talks. One in a posh English country house and the other in a South African jail. This is less about the substance of the talks than the roles of Thabo Mbeki (as a sophisticated and unyielding negotiator for the ANC), Professor Willie Esterhuyse (under orders to negotiate nothing and act as a reluctant spy) and Dr Neil Barnard (head of the Nation Intelligence Service as spider in the middle). This is the most successful part of the film, capturing the ambiguities of the government trying to both destroy the ANC and talk to it and similarly the ANC trying to figure out if the government is serious about peace talks or if it is a divide and conquer strategy. The final act begins with P.W. Botha's stroke and things happen so quickly I found it slightly unsatisfactory. Almost like F.W. de Klerk comes to power and then a miracle occurs.
People sitting around a table talking is not a good subject for a film, but Endgame succeeds in bringing out the irony of negotiations between a powerful government and the representatives of the people it is subjugating. The government wants concessions from the ANC but any concessions by the ANC would lead to it agreeing to some special deal for whites.
Watch trailer here.
Ian's rating 3/5 Anne's rating 3/5
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Transports Exceptionnels and Shapeshifter - Weekend Outdoor Culture
Sometimes going for a walk can be just a little dull, especially if you've been wherever you're going before. On the other hand, the weather has been so nice lately that its a bit of a pity to stay inside in order to be amused. So the fact that there's been some good entertainment in the great outdoors recently seems noteworthy.
On the last Saturday in February we went to see Transports Exceptionnels,which was a free event in Waitangi Park, part of the International Festival of the Arts. This event has been described as Dance with the Digger and it features two talented Frenchmen -one to dance and one to drive the digger- accompanied by Maria Callas singing Opera. The digger was sourced locally and was particularly shiny and splendid-looking
Philippe Priasso the dancer brought a cat burglar to mind, probably because of the combination of graceful movement and wearing black leather gloves. He hung from the digger bucket in every possible way, he posed on the digger arm, he ran in circles apparently pursued by the digger rotating and lay on the ground in its shadow. It was beautiful, daring and original, and the sun shone while the crowd sat on the grass in a circle and cheered and clapped.Top-notch entertainment and on the walk home we had local youth leaping into the harbour en masse as a bonus.
Last weekend we we went to Shapeshifter which is an outdoor sculpture exhibition that's also part of the Arts Festival. Not free, but the entry fee of $5 is completely reasonable. Most of the exhibition is in Lower Hutt's Civic Gardens and a few things are in the Dowse over the road. Civic Gardens (which we'd never visited before) is nice, with lots of big trees and a somewhat murky stream.
We had a programme which helpfully told us what each work was called and who had done it and how much it cost and then usually some art-speak about the artist's message and inspiration which seems pretty pretentious to a philistine like me but it added to the amusement we derived from the whole outing. The sculpture varied from the completely recognisable (a marble satchel) to quite abstract (twisted strip of metal) and it made for a pleasant stroll with interesting things to look at.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
The Road
For a change the Wellington Film Society got a scoop on a new film due for general release on 18 March (courtesy of the Paramount). The Road stars Viggo Mortensen as a father protecting his son in a post-apocalyptic world. Post-apocalyptic films are almost genre of their own. Usually they are either a sub-genre of SciFi or Horror, but in this case it is more of a human interest drama.
The lead characters in The Road don't have names, they refer to each other as Papa and Son. The film centres around Viggo Mortensen's character's all consuming goal of keeping his son and himself alive after his wife has committed suicide in despair that civilization will never return and humanity will inevitably starve to death. It is unusually bleak for an American film. Things start badly and you are left in no doubt that they will not get better.
I am in two minds about the ending as to whether it is a cop-out or a useful shock to underline message of the film and possibly undermine the inevitability of the moral journey. Either way iI think it was clumsily done. This may seem vague and hand-wavy but I don't want to give away too much about the ending in case you go and see it.
Like Where the Wild Things Are the plot is a light for a full length feature film but given that this film has to take you on an emotional and moral journey into the despair of its characters it probably needs most of the 11o minutes to get the audience there. The scenery, lighting and weather and other CGI effects all work to get you there. Winter in this film - grey, cold and muddy - is properly miserable.
Viggo Mortensen dominates the film and even Kodi Smit-McPhee (playing his son and constant companion) is effectively in a supporting role. There are cameo roles for Charlize Theron and Robert Duvall - the former representing a romanticised past (i.e. civilization).
Some of the filming was done on the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike which I'd never heard of before, but looks like a useful place for film makers.
Ian's rating 3/5
The lead characters in The Road don't have names, they refer to each other as Papa and Son. The film centres around Viggo Mortensen's character's all consuming goal of keeping his son and himself alive after his wife has committed suicide in despair that civilization will never return and humanity will inevitably starve to death. It is unusually bleak for an American film. Things start badly and you are left in no doubt that they will not get better.
The future is not a nice place and you have to be prepared to put aside niceties to survive, but will that turn you into a bad person?Father and son are travelling somewhere ("south to the coast") but it doesn't matter as the father knows it is a futile exercise. The question is: how selfish and inhuman do you have to be to survive in a world where they will be no new food? As the father is driven to more and more extreme acts to survive, his distance on the moral spectrum from the cannibals at the other end is getting shorter and shorter, and his son's questions become his conscience. The latter is an interesting device. Which doesn't entirely make sense, given that the boy (a foetus when the catastrophe happened) has never known our pre-apocalyptic society and moral values.
I am in two minds about the ending as to whether it is a cop-out or a useful shock to underline message of the film and possibly undermine the inevitability of the moral journey. Either way iI think it was clumsily done. This may seem vague and hand-wavy but I don't want to give away too much about the ending in case you go and see it.
Like Where the Wild Things Are the plot is a light for a full length feature film but given that this film has to take you on an emotional and moral journey into the despair of its characters it probably needs most of the 11o minutes to get the audience there. The scenery, lighting and weather and other CGI effects all work to get you there. Winter in this film - grey, cold and muddy - is properly miserable.
Viggo Mortensen dominates the film and even Kodi Smit-McPhee (playing his son and constant companion) is effectively in a supporting role. There are cameo roles for Charlize Theron and Robert Duvall - the former representing a romanticised past (i.e. civilization).
Some of the filming was done on the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike which I'd never heard of before, but looks like a useful place for film makers.
Ian's rating 3/5
Please, please me!
Having seen, and enjoyed, Emmanuel Mouret's unconventional Shall We Kiss? last year, with its gauche protagonists bumbling through their slow paced affair. I was keen to see what this actor / writer / director had come up with this time. His innocent and slightly bewildered face makes him an unusual (and non-threatening) actor to play a romantic protagonist. This allows him to address issues that would usually be off limits to more macho male characters.
Please, please me! (Trailer) opens with Jean-Jacques (Emmanuel Mouret) eager for some Saturday morning sex after a busy, sexless week, while his beautiful blonde girlfriend (Frédérique Bel) wants to sleep longer. His clumsy attempts to alternately keep his hands off her and seduce her become increasingly slapstick before morphing into a philosophical discussion on why their relationship is doomed (because lack of sex makes him desperate ... which turns her off). This seguing from one style of comedy to another as we follow Jean-Jacques through 24 hours of what are essentially a sequence of comic (and improbable) encounters with various beautiful women is what this film is about. Along the way there is a tribute to Get Smart with a series of small lifts, secret doors and tunnels, and a Carry On-like scene when he finds himself in a small flat with 4 nightie clad sisters. I may have missed something but there didn't seem much to hold it all together except the gauche and diffident Jean-Jacques.
Of the female co-stars the most memorable is the enigmatic Aneth (Déborah François) - zip expert and maid to the French President's daughter, who says more with her eyes than her mouth.
I have described this film to friends as "Mr Bean does a romantic comedy". But that is harsh comparison as Emmanuel Mouret's character is not as mean as Mr Bean and is more passive than stupid, and there is much more variety in the comedy than in a Rowan Atkinson film. But if you are faced with "Please, please me!" and "Shall We Kiss?" when choosing a DVD to rent, pick the latter.
Ian's rating 2.5/5 Anne's rating 3/5
Please, please me! (Trailer) opens with Jean-Jacques (Emmanuel Mouret) eager for some Saturday morning sex after a busy, sexless week, while his beautiful blonde girlfriend (Frédérique Bel) wants to sleep longer. His clumsy attempts to alternately keep his hands off her and seduce her become increasingly slapstick before morphing into a philosophical discussion on why their relationship is doomed (because lack of sex makes him desperate ... which turns her off). This seguing from one style of comedy to another as we follow Jean-Jacques through 24 hours of what are essentially a sequence of comic (and improbable) encounters with various beautiful women is what this film is about. Along the way there is a tribute to Get Smart with a series of small lifts, secret doors and tunnels, and a Carry On-like scene when he finds himself in a small flat with 4 nightie clad sisters. I may have missed something but there didn't seem much to hold it all together except the gauche and diffident Jean-Jacques.
Of the female co-stars the most memorable is the enigmatic Aneth (Déborah François) - zip expert and maid to the French President's daughter, who says more with her eyes than her mouth.
I have described this film to friends as "Mr Bean does a romantic comedy". But that is harsh comparison as Emmanuel Mouret's character is not as mean as Mr Bean and is more passive than stupid, and there is much more variety in the comedy than in a Rowan Atkinson film. But if you are faced with "Please, please me!" and "Shall We Kiss?" when choosing a DVD to rent, pick the latter.
Ian's rating 2.5/5 Anne's rating 3/5
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes the movie isn't really aimed at Conan Doyle aficionados. It's a kind of an action movie with historic overtones and with some characters and background from a famous story. A slightly silly action movie at that. Think Shanghai Knights with more good-looking stars.
Sherlock Holmes is played by Robert Downey Junior and Dr Watson is played by Jude Law. They thwart a murder by arch-baddie Lord Blackwood who is arrested and hung for some previous murders but manages to avoid actually dying and stages a comeback from the dead and then tries to poison everyone in the House of Commons. Of course Holmes and Watson come to the rescue and then we have a highly improbable finale on a computer- generated Tower Bridge under construction where Blackwood finally gets the nasty end he deserves.
Along the way we get thinly disguised Masonic conspiracy, an old flame of Sherlock Holmes making a bit of a nuisance of herself, a few more murders, Watson making a huge effort to move out of Baker St and get his relationship with Mary off the ground, a cute bulldog and an amazing fight scene in a dry dock where the ship under construction gets launched by accident. One of the tenets of this movie is that Sherlock Holmes is an accomplished fighter although we can only wonder how he manages to maintain such a finely toned and fight-ready torso while moping around the house for weeks at a time.
The sound track was rousing but there was too much CGI for my liking. Why have a completely unconvincing CGI night view of Victorian London in the rain when you could just have found a street scene with houses of the right era and filmed that instead? The half built Tower Bridge was equally annoying. They did use some real locations like Brompton Cemetery but not nearly enough, in my opinion. I felt like the actors were just in front of a blank screen most of the time and the background got filled in later.
There's nothing wrong with escapist clap-trap but I've seen it done better.
Anne's rating 2/5
Perhaps I am getting too used to CGI but I didn't find it too obtrusive. I agree with Anne's assessment that this isn't really a Sherlock Holmes story but is a good Shanghai Knights-like romp.
Ian's rating 3/5
Sherlock Holmes is played by Robert Downey Junior and Dr Watson is played by Jude Law. They thwart a murder by arch-baddie Lord Blackwood who is arrested and hung for some previous murders but manages to avoid actually dying and stages a comeback from the dead and then tries to poison everyone in the House of Commons. Of course Holmes and Watson come to the rescue and then we have a highly improbable finale on a computer- generated Tower Bridge under construction where Blackwood finally gets the nasty end he deserves.
Along the way we get thinly disguised Masonic conspiracy, an old flame of Sherlock Holmes making a bit of a nuisance of herself, a few more murders, Watson making a huge effort to move out of Baker St and get his relationship with Mary off the ground, a cute bulldog and an amazing fight scene in a dry dock where the ship under construction gets launched by accident. One of the tenets of this movie is that Sherlock Holmes is an accomplished fighter although we can only wonder how he manages to maintain such a finely toned and fight-ready torso while moping around the house for weeks at a time.
The sound track was rousing but there was too much CGI for my liking. Why have a completely unconvincing CGI night view of Victorian London in the rain when you could just have found a street scene with houses of the right era and filmed that instead? The half built Tower Bridge was equally annoying. They did use some real locations like Brompton Cemetery but not nearly enough, in my opinion. I felt like the actors were just in front of a blank screen most of the time and the background got filled in later.
There's nothing wrong with escapist clap-trap but I've seen it done better.
Anne's rating 2/5
Perhaps I am getting too used to CGI but I didn't find it too obtrusive. I agree with Anne's assessment that this isn't really a Sherlock Holmes story but is a good Shanghai Knights-like romp.
Ian's rating 3/5
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Where the Wild Things Are
We had some free movie tickets to use by Christmas Eve, so Where the Wild Things Are seemed like the best of the available options. I have read the book (a long time ago) and the pictures have stuck with me much more than the plot - perhaps because the soft toys and children's wall frescoes are ubiquitous. I don't have any qualms about going to a movie for children but I had read that it isn't a child's movie but a movie for adults who want to remember what it's like to be a child, which seemed an appealing concept.
The story is about Max who is a 6 or 7 year old who lives with his mother and older sister. Like most 6 or 7 year old boys, he's addicted to adrenalin and attention, and like most 6 or 7 year olds that addiction can't always be fed at times convenient to himself. One evening when his mother is attempting to entertain a male friend, he gets a big telling off because his behaviour is embarrassing her,and so he bites her and runs off and ends up sailing a boat to the home of the Wild Things - an amazing somewhat unlikely landscape made up of forest juxtaposed with desert and seaside, populated with large furry creatures with horns.
Max has some adventures with his new furry friends,and gets crowned King of the Wild Things and you don't have to be a psychologist to work out that the Wild Things represent different aspects of his personality. His favourite is Carol, who likes to smash things to cheer himself up and assuage anger. KW is a bit alternative and has friends outside the group, and the Bull is a gloomy Eeyore-like character. After a major dirtball fight where some Wild Things get hurt (Douglas loses an arm which gives rise to one of the best quotes "that arm was one of my favourites") and Max learns that being angry and destructive can hurt people you care about and break possessions you care about. Realising he misses his Mother he sets sail for home and on arrival has supper with his Mother, all safe and sound.
I had a pleasant time watching this film. The psychological stuff isn't laboured too hard and the Wild Things are appealing and charming. Its a bit long for its content (an hour would have done) and there are one or two irritating flaws. The bit that bugged me most was Max running off through the neighbourhood with his Mother pursuing him, and then her giving up without finding him. This would have been believable if he had run up to his bedroom (like in the book) or even into the backyard but losing your child in a suburban street and then going home to wait for him calmly just wasn't credible - I'd be expecting police cars and search dogs.
For adults WTWTA has escapist qualities and a degree of charm; for children its probably too long and a bit obscure - reading them the book would be better.
Anne's rating: 3/5 Ian's rating: 2/5
The story is about Max who is a 6 or 7 year old who lives with his mother and older sister. Like most 6 or 7 year old boys, he's addicted to adrenalin and attention, and like most 6 or 7 year olds that addiction can't always be fed at times convenient to himself. One evening when his mother is attempting to entertain a male friend, he gets a big telling off because his behaviour is embarrassing her,and so he bites her and runs off and ends up sailing a boat to the home of the Wild Things - an amazing somewhat unlikely landscape made up of forest juxtaposed with desert and seaside, populated with large furry creatures with horns.
Max has some adventures with his new furry friends,and gets crowned King of the Wild Things and you don't have to be a psychologist to work out that the Wild Things represent different aspects of his personality. His favourite is Carol, who likes to smash things to cheer himself up and assuage anger. KW is a bit alternative and has friends outside the group, and the Bull is a gloomy Eeyore-like character. After a major dirtball fight where some Wild Things get hurt (Douglas loses an arm which gives rise to one of the best quotes "that arm was one of my favourites") and Max learns that being angry and destructive can hurt people you care about and break possessions you care about. Realising he misses his Mother he sets sail for home and on arrival has supper with his Mother, all safe and sound.
I had a pleasant time watching this film. The psychological stuff isn't laboured too hard and the Wild Things are appealing and charming. Its a bit long for its content (an hour would have done) and there are one or two irritating flaws. The bit that bugged me most was Max running off through the neighbourhood with his Mother pursuing him, and then her giving up without finding him. This would have been believable if he had run up to his bedroom (like in the book) or even into the backyard but losing your child in a suburban street and then going home to wait for him calmly just wasn't credible - I'd be expecting police cars and search dogs.
For adults WTWTA has escapist qualities and a degree of charm; for children its probably too long and a bit obscure - reading them the book would be better.
Anne's rating: 3/5 Ian's rating: 2/5
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Novemberkind
Novemberkind was the opening offering of the recent German Film Festival - which was staged to celebrate twenty years since the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. We went to the second night - apparently the first night at the Embassy was almost full. A pity, then, that the opening night crowd was subjected to such a depressing film. Not a bad film, but definitely depressing.
Novemberkind is set in roughly present-day Malchow, in what used to be East Germany. The central character of the film is Inga, a young woman who has been brought up by her grandparents believing that her Mother drowned when she was a baby. One day a slightly creepy older man called Robert (who is a professor of literature from Konstanz in what used to be West Germany) comes into the library in which she works and engages her in conversation and ends up taking her out for dinner. It emerges that Robert knew Inga's Mother and in fact she attended a writing course of his in Konstanz. So then a voyage of personal discovery begins for Inga, about what actually happened to her Mother and Father, and the audience is taken along for the ride.
The story is played very straight. As Inga makes discoveries we see the events as flashbacks, with the same actress that plays Inga playing her Mother. We never really know how she feels about her discoveries - we can only interpret from her interactions with other character in the film. There are no voice-overs, and no intimate chats with friends about what she's thinking. Robert the literature professor lurks in the background and we never get over the feeling he is just a creepy voyeur using Inga's plight as fodder for his next novel.
I think the film's raison d'etre is an illustration of the impact of Germany's East/West divide on the lives of individuals - in this case, Inga, Inga's parents, Inga's grandparents, and a Russian soldier Inga's Mother meets when Inga is a baby. If this is the case, it certainly achieves it's aim. For the audience, it's a bit of a harrowing ride,and as Ian points out, when it reaches it's conclusion there aren't many other options left. The unfolding of the plot is what makes the film interesting so I won't discuss it except to say that once Inga finds out that her Mother didn't drown 25 years ago but escaped to West Germany the big question is How could a Mother abandon her baby? And you'll have to watch the film to find out the detail, but the answer to the big question is that she couldn't.
I thought this was quite a powerful film and somewhat harrowing. I wasn't uplifted and so I hesitate to recommend it, but I wasn't bored.
Anne's rating 2.5/5 Ian's rating 2/5
Novemberkind is set in roughly present-day Malchow, in what used to be East Germany. The central character of the film is Inga, a young woman who has been brought up by her grandparents believing that her Mother drowned when she was a baby. One day a slightly creepy older man called Robert (who is a professor of literature from Konstanz in what used to be West Germany) comes into the library in which she works and engages her in conversation and ends up taking her out for dinner. It emerges that Robert knew Inga's Mother and in fact she attended a writing course of his in Konstanz. So then a voyage of personal discovery begins for Inga, about what actually happened to her Mother and Father, and the audience is taken along for the ride.
The story is played very straight. As Inga makes discoveries we see the events as flashbacks, with the same actress that plays Inga playing her Mother. We never really know how she feels about her discoveries - we can only interpret from her interactions with other character in the film. There are no voice-overs, and no intimate chats with friends about what she's thinking. Robert the literature professor lurks in the background and we never get over the feeling he is just a creepy voyeur using Inga's plight as fodder for his next novel.
I think the film's raison d'etre is an illustration of the impact of Germany's East/West divide on the lives of individuals - in this case, Inga, Inga's parents, Inga's grandparents, and a Russian soldier Inga's Mother meets when Inga is a baby. If this is the case, it certainly achieves it's aim. For the audience, it's a bit of a harrowing ride,and as Ian points out, when it reaches it's conclusion there aren't many other options left. The unfolding of the plot is what makes the film interesting so I won't discuss it except to say that once Inga finds out that her Mother didn't drown 25 years ago but escaped to West Germany the big question is How could a Mother abandon her baby? And you'll have to watch the film to find out the detail, but the answer to the big question is that she couldn't.
I thought this was quite a powerful film and somewhat harrowing. I wasn't uplifted and so I hesitate to recommend it, but I wasn't bored.
Anne's rating 2.5/5 Ian's rating 2/5
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
(500) Days of Summer
(500) Days of Summer is a romantic comedy that strives to be different and quirky. Largely it succeeds. Its point of difference is that it shows a relationship from a male perspective and from a male perspective that is the opposite of usual US TV/Film stereotype. Tom is an unabashed romantic, a believer in "one true love", while Summer (the girl he falls in love with) is more cynical and wants commitment-free fun. This film is also quirky in that it is not shy at quaintly imitating a slew of other film conceits (the all-knowing narrator, inter-titles, non-chronological scenes, a split screen scene, a song and dance routine, gratuitous animation, a wise-beyond-her-years sub-teen little sister, etc).
The fact that the story is told from Tom's point of view (slightly disguised by having an unidentified third person narrator) is both refreshingly normal (as opposed to film-like) and also annoying. It is normal in that, unlike many films, we don't have a God-like understanding of both the main characters. Just as in real life where we often don't understand those around us, including our nearest and dearest. It is annoying because whereas it is clear where Tom is coming from, Summer is an enigma - and her enigma is more interesting than Tom's character.
Tom is surprised that Summer agrees to go out with him (this might have something to do with her being new in town). He continues to pursue her and apart from repeatedly saying that she doesn't want a relationship and that they aren't having one, she goes along with him. This confuses the poor guy, who blindly pretends a relationship exists. While we are wondering why would such a beautiful woman go out with a guy who perpetually wears sweaters in L.A.? Why does she go for a walk in the middle of the night, in the rain, in downtown Los Angeles to apologise for not wanting to have sex when she is angry for him behaving like an idiot? Why does she break up with him? And isn't this counter to her often stated position that she doesn't believe they are having a relationship?
The old world décor, unfashionable clothes, rain, overcast weather, grungy buildings, children biking in CBD led me to the erroneous belief that the film was set in some city in the north or north east of the US so the announcement that this was Los Angeles came as a surprise. So perhaps there are parts of L.A. that are not all sunshine, mirror glass, fashionable clothes and given over to cars.
The plot is simple even by romantic comedy standards: Boy is obsessed with gorgeous woman (who he initially and correctly classifies as out of his league). She tells him up front that she's happy to have a bit of fun with him but is not interested in a relationship. He ignores this to his peril. Later she dumps him. He takes it hard. We are not watching this film for the plot.
The supporting cast are barely more than extras with lines to say. Tom gets more cynical towards the end but that is a side effect of depression rather than character development. Summer is more a collection of confusing behaviours than a personality we get to understand. We are not watching this film for its characters.
Even though Zooey Deschanel (Summer) is a wide-eyed beauty who'd turn heads in any company, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tom) is a slightly geeky everyman, I think few would be watching this film for its star appeal. The reasons to watch this film are firstly the way the story is told - which is different enough to be interesting, without being distracting - and secondly for the its contribution to relationship wisdom. Unfortunately there is a confusion of messages in this film:
This is not a great film but it is a film that could give you something to think about or talk about afterwards.
Ian's rating 2/5 Anne's rating 2.5/5
The fact that the story is told from Tom's point of view (slightly disguised by having an unidentified third person narrator) is both refreshingly normal (as opposed to film-like) and also annoying. It is normal in that, unlike many films, we don't have a God-like understanding of both the main characters. Just as in real life where we often don't understand those around us, including our nearest and dearest. It is annoying because whereas it is clear where Tom is coming from, Summer is an enigma - and her enigma is more interesting than Tom's character.
Tom is surprised that Summer agrees to go out with him (this might have something to do with her being new in town). He continues to pursue her and apart from repeatedly saying that she doesn't want a relationship and that they aren't having one, she goes along with him. This confuses the poor guy, who blindly pretends a relationship exists. While we are wondering why would such a beautiful woman go out with a guy who perpetually wears sweaters in L.A.? Why does she go for a walk in the middle of the night, in the rain, in downtown Los Angeles to apologise for not wanting to have sex when she is angry for him behaving like an idiot? Why does she break up with him? And isn't this counter to her often stated position that she doesn't believe they are having a relationship?
The old world décor, unfashionable clothes, rain, overcast weather, grungy buildings, children biking in CBD led me to the erroneous belief that the film was set in some city in the north or north east of the US so the announcement that this was Los Angeles came as a surprise. So perhaps there are parts of L.A. that are not all sunshine, mirror glass, fashionable clothes and given over to cars.
The plot is simple even by romantic comedy standards: Boy is obsessed with gorgeous woman (who he initially and correctly classifies as out of his league). She tells him up front that she's happy to have a bit of fun with him but is not interested in a relationship. He ignores this to his peril. Later she dumps him. He takes it hard. We are not watching this film for the plot.
The supporting cast are barely more than extras with lines to say. Tom gets more cynical towards the end but that is a side effect of depression rather than character development. Summer is more a collection of confusing behaviours than a personality we get to understand. We are not watching this film for its characters.
Even though Zooey Deschanel (Summer) is a wide-eyed beauty who'd turn heads in any company, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tom) is a slightly geeky everyman, I think few would be watching this film for its star appeal. The reasons to watch this film are firstly the way the story is told - which is different enough to be interesting, without being distracting - and secondly for the its contribution to relationship wisdom. Unfortunately there is a confusion of messages in this film:
- The most obvious: don't date up market.
- The equally simple: being in love feels great, but it comes with a hell-of-a-hangover.
- Tom's belief in the "one true love" is out of step with everyone in the film between 10 and 40 which suggests that this belief is considered as fuddy-duddy as the greetings cards Tom writes.
- A relationship doesn't exist or not exist because you say it does or doesn't, it a description of how two people interact regardless of what they might say or think.
This is not a great film but it is a film that could give you something to think about or talk about afterwards.
Ian's rating 2/5 Anne's rating 2.5/5
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